


And They Were Roommates

by auspicious_shipss



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora is Aspec, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Parenting, But only if you live in the US they're all 19/20, Childhood Friends, Coming Out, Explicit Consent, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Homophobia, Human Catra (She-Ra), Internalized Homophobia, Jealousy, Jock Adora (She-Ra), Lack of Communication, Like demisexual or greyace, Minor Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Minor Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra), Mutual Pining, Oblivious Adora (She-Ra), Oral Sex, POV Alternating, Pining, Praise Kink, Self Confidence Issues, Sexual Tension, Sexuality Crisis, She's into Catra and that's it, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Underage Drinking, Vaginal Fingering, smut is skippable, they're all disasters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:54:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 86,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24830401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/auspicious_shipss/pseuds/auspicious_shipss
Summary: Adora misses her best friend, but she's usually too busy with practice and studying to spend time with Catra. That is, until they start rooming together sophomore year and Adora starts feeling emotions she doesn't quite know how to identify...Catra's accepted the fact that Adora has new friends and their friendship will never be the same again, but that doesn't change her crush. Maybe if she just finds someone to help her get over Adora, it will all be okay.(Loosely based on that one reddit post where the guy is worried that he's homophobic because he doesn't like seeing his roommate with other men but it turns out he's just gay for his roommate.)
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra (She-Ra)/Original Character(s), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 447
Kudos: 1997





	1. Movie Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been over a month and I'm still not over canon Catradora!!! I love these useless lesbians with all my heart so of course I had to write some fanfiction, and what better for these two than a classic slow burn? I hope you enjoy these two being absolute disasters :)

Adora loved college. She loved the freedom she had to be herself and make her own decisions. She especially loved the new friends she made on the field hockey team. She couldn’t have asked for a better set of teammates.

Adora’s only regret was not spending more time with Catra. She had accepted the sports scholarship at Bright Moon University to be with her best friend, after all, but they had recently been growing apart. Adora was spending more time with her teammates, which had somehow caused Catra to retreat in on herself.

It hurt, to see the way Catra’s face fell whenever Adora told her she would be spending time with her teammates. She still remembered the first time it happened, about a month into college.

“So what movie do you want to watch tonight?” Catra asked, referencing their Saturday night movie night tradition. Which neither of them had missed since its inception sophomore year of high school.

“Oh Catra, I’m so sorry,” Adora rubbed the back of her neck nervously, “But… I have a team dinner this Saturday. Coach says we need a more supportive team environment. I don’t really know what that means, but she--”

“--You’re missing movie night?” Catra demanded, cutting off Adora’s rambling. Which was probably for the best, as once Adora started rambling it was difficult for her to stop.

“Yes?” Adora confirmed hesitantly. She honestly had no idea how Catra would take it. She knew her best friend had little in the way of other friends, so the lack of Saturday plans might leave her feeling lonely.

Catra’s eyes widened in what could only be described as panic, “You can’t just skip this dinner thing? It sounds lame anyways.”

“Well, it’s technically not mandatory, but…” Adora trailed off as she saw the hope on Catra’s face. Hope that quickly turned to confusion as Adora didn’t finish her sentence.

“But what?” Catra demanded.

“But I really should go,” Adora finally finished, not looking Catra in the eyes, “I’m one of the newest members of the team, so I should really be making an effort to get to know everyone else better.”

“What, you don’t know enough about them from your three hour practices every day?” Catra snapped. Adora was determinedly staring at the bookshelf next to her in an effort to avoid looking at Catra, but she could hear the defensiveness in her friend’s voice.

“Catra, that’s different. We’re practicing, not talking to each other or becoming friends,” Adora explained, “Look, it’s not going to become a weekly thing. It’s just this once, okay?”

There was an awkward silence as Adora finally forced herself to look back at Catra. Her friend was staring at her with an expression Adora had never seen before. She almost looked betrayed.

“Fine. It’s not that big of a deal anyways,” Catra finally huffed in a way that implied it was in fact a big deal, “I should really be studying for my chemistry test.”

“I promise I’ll make it up to you next week,” Adora reassured her friend in an attempt to make it better.

But the problem was, the next week Glimmer invited Adora to a party and Adora really wanted to go. She had never been to a party before, and she wanted to see what it was like. And then the week after that, Perfuma invited everyone to help her pick out some potted plants for the team’s locker room. And then the next week Mermista invited everyone out for a night on her boyfriend’s boat, which was amazing.

So it was actually a month before Adora was able to make good on her promise to make her flakiness up to Catra.

“So I was thinking tonight we could watch Pirates of the Caribbean?” Adora asked as she and Catra compared notes for their one shared class (Spanish). The movie was a peace offering; it had been their shared favorite since they were kids. Adora enjoyed the sword fighting and love story, and Catra had always had a crush on Kiera Knightly.

“What are you talking about?” Catra snapped, not looking up from Adora’s atrocious notes.

 _It was Saturday, right?_ Adora wondered as she confirmed on her phone, “You know, for movie night? It’s Saturday…”

That got Catra to look up, “What, you don’t have anything better to do?”

“Catra, it’s not like that. I just had some team stuff come up these past few weeks, but now I’m free again. I’m sorry.”

“Well sorry to disappoint, but I have plans,” Catra glared at her from across the table.

“You… have plans?” Adora asked carefully. She racked her brain for what Catra’s plans could possibly be. To her knowledge, the other girl wasn’t in any clubs and spent most of her time studying. Adora wasn’t even sure if Catra had made friends since they had arrived at college.

“Yeah, I do,” Catra confirmed, refusing to elaborate. _Why is she being so difficult?_ Adora fumed internally.

“What are your plans?” Adora asked nonchalantly. She was glad her friend was getting out there more and making plans with other people, but a small part of her was sad she would knowingly make them on Saturday.

“Entrapta’s hosting a movie night for some of the STEM majors on our floor. If memory serves, she said something about a _supportive department environment_?” Catra smirked, emphasizing the last words in an obvious echo of Adora’s earlier excuses. Adora knew how petty Catra could be, but it was different when it was directed at _her_. She didn’t care for it at all.

But seriously, a different movie night on Saturday? And one for STEM majors, that Adora--who was a reluctant business major--was explicitly excluded from? That hurt, coming from Catra. It was as if her best friend was trying to push her away.

“Oh,” Adora tried her best to not sound offended. She should be supportive of Catra’s sudden interest in making new friends, even if it made her sad, “Well, have fun then. Next week?”

Catra shrugged, “If I don’t have plans.”

Something about Catra’s behavior didn’t add up for Adora. She could understand that her friend was hurt about cancelling the last couple movie nights, but now it was as if Catra wanted nothing to do with her. In fact, now that she thought about it, Adora had been seeing much less of Catra on campus. Had the other girl been avoiding her?

When she brought it up with her mother, she assured Adora that this was completely normal. People changed and grew in college, and that often led to growing apart. But that just didn’t sit right with Adora. Maybe normal friendships would grow apart, but her and Catra? There was no way. They had been best friends for as long as Adora could remember.

\---

Throughout the year, they continued to grow apart. Adora was getting even closer with her team, and Catra seemed to have made friends with the other STEM majors on campus. They still texted occasionally, but it was mainly about classes.

Adora really missed her best friend. She loved her teammates, but they didn’t grow up with Adora like Catra did. Catra understood her better than anyone else, and Adora missed having the other girl to talk to about her day, about what was stressing her, and about her doubts regarding her major. But if Catra’s general silence was anything to go by, it was pretty clear she didn’t want to hear it.

Adora was snapped out of her internal monologue by the sound of her phone chiming. It was the custom text tone she had set for Catra--because she wanted to be there whenever the other girl wanted to talk, okay?--so she lunged for her phone frantically. Maybe Catra wanted to make plans, or maybe she had a funny story to share.

>>Hey, what did you get for question five on the practice test?

Adora’s heart fell. She didn’t know what she was expecting, after all they hadn’t had a conversation about something other than classes since they came back from winter break. Something inside her still hoped that Catra longed to reforge their connection like she did. No such luck.

<<I haven’t done it yet, sorry!

>>Adora, the test is tomorrow…

<<No it’s not

>>Yes it is

>>Read the syllabus

>>And it’s on the portal

>>And why else would she give us the practice test this week??

<<Okay I get it!

<<I’m so screwed I haven’t studied at all

Adora groaned, earning her a glare from her roommate. She had never been the best at school, she had only gotten into Bright Moon University because she was a recruited athlete, so the transition to college was a struggle for her. Not to mention she hated the major her parents had picked out for her, so even showing up to class was a struggle. Her GPA was suffering, and the last thing she needed was a bad grade in her elective, too. 

>>Do you need help?

<<YES!!!

>>K

>>Meet me at the library in 20?

<<Will do

<<Tysm Catra

>>Don’t be late

As promised, Adora was in the library 20 minutes later, with all of her class notes and practice material in hand. She thanked whatever higher power that was out there that she actually enjoyed Spanish, so her notes were actually, for the most part, legible.

Adora was actually pretty good at Spanish. There was something about languages that she found intriguing. Of course, she wasn’t as good at Spanish as Catra, who spoke Spanish with her parents before they died. Catra was fairly young when she was adopted by Adora’s neighbors, so she had lost her fluency by the time the mandatory high school language classes came around. Even so, her pronunciation was worlds better than Adora’s.

Adora made her way to her and Catra’s normal table to find Catra already there. She flashed Adora a hesitant smile.

“Hey, Adora,” She greeted. It had been a few weeks since Adora and Catra had talked face-to-face, and Adora had missed the casual lull of her friend’s voice more than she cared to admit.

“Hi, Catra. Thanks for helping me,” Adora smiled back as she sat down.

Catra shrugged, “I need a study partner too.”

They got to work practicing their tenses and pronunciations of their various words. As they talked, Adora realized how much she had missed spending time with Catra over the past couple of months. Sure, Catra was as prickly as ever, but they still made a good team.

“So I should probably get to sleep. I have morning practice tomorrow,” Adora finally announced, cutting their study session short.

Catra nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I have an 8 am tomorrow. See you in class or whatever.”

“Wait, Catra!” Adora called as her friend walked away. She had just had an amazing idea to reconnect with her best friend, “Do you want to reinstate movie night after class tomorrow? I don’t have practice in the evenings.”

“Sure,” Catra agreed casually, her face difficult to read. She had gotten better at hiding her emotions since the last time they talked, Adora noted. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

\---

Their impromptu study session definitely helped Adora much more than she cared to admit. The test focused on things that Adora herself wouldn’t have thought to study so intensely, so normally Adora would have been completely screwed. Luckily, Catra had stressed the importance of those sections, so studying with the other girl had saved her grade. Adora made a mental note to thank her friend during their movie night.

Adora was running through the best way to express her appreciation without making it weird when Catra walked out of their classroom. The other girl had always taken longer on tests, choosing to use the time after she completed the test to check her answers. Adora had never bothered with that, although maybe she should.

“Catra! Wait up,” Adora called as Catra started walking away. She wasn’t about to let Catra get out of movie night now.

“What are you still doing here, didn’t you finish your test like half an hour ago?” Catra asked, slowing down her breakneck walking pace to allow Adora to catch up.

Adora shrugged, “Yeah, but I wanted to wait for you! You’re done with classes now right?” She hated to admit it, but she still had Catra’s schedule memorized from when they had compared over winter break. Now if only her brain could devote the same level of focus to marketing strategies.

Catra nodded, “Why? Scared I’m going to run off on you?”

“Kind of?” Adora admitted. Catra wasn’t the kind to flake on plans, but things were weird between them now. She wasn’t really sure where they stood anymore.

“I’m not going anywhere, Adora,” Catra said, the intensity of her tone out of place in such a casual conversation. Adora got the sense that Catra wasn’t talking about the movie night anymore.

“Great! My roommate’s visiting her boyfriend this weekend so we can hang in my room without the usual judgemental stares,” Adora offered. Adora’s roommate wasn’t exactly thrilled the first time Catra had come over for movie night, and she and Catra seemed to have some sort of unspoken disdain for each other. Which was pretty common when it came to introducing people to Catra, but was still annoying.

Unfortunately, Catra’s two roommates were on the opposite end of the scale. They were both extremely friendly and affectionate to the point that Catra and Adora’s movie night was expanded to the room’s movie night. It was fun, but Adora had wanted to spend the time with Catra, not with Entrapta and Scorpia.

“Oh thank God,” Catra sighed in relief, “Scorpia is getting on my last nerve. This morning she was singing in the shower at 6 am. Who even does that! And then Entrapta’s ramen blew up in the microwave during lunch so the whole place smells like shit.”

“Sounds like the perfect time for a movie night!” Adora beamed at her friend. She was glad they would get to spend time together, and hopefully she could get her friend to vent to her. Catra always felt better after a good rant.

They made their way to Adora’s dorm. As a freshman, she had the worst housing at BMU: Two twin beds, two desks, a mini fridge, a microwave, and access to a communal bathroom. Adora missed the simple things, like a door between her and the world and a sink. Maybe next year.

“Man, I forgot how shitty your room is,” Catra observed as she sprawled herself across Adora’s bed. Adora had always found Catra’s inability to sit like a normal person endearing.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Adora shot back, “Don’t think that just because you have a bathroom means you’re so great. You still have to share your room with two other people.”

Catra pouted at her, “Don’t remind me. I never thought I would miss doors this much, but if I don’t have something to slam next year I think I’ll lose it.”

 _Of course that’s why Catra would miss doors_. “What are your plans for next year?”

“Honestly, I don’t know yet,” Catra shrugged, “All I know is I _can’t_ take another day living with the ‘Super Pal Trio.’ Maybe I’ll splurge and get a single or something.”

“Do you have the money for that?” Adora asked. Singles at BMU were notoriously expensive. Adding that on top of the hefty tuition would be a tough financial burden, and Catra wasn’t exactly rolling in it.

Catra rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands in exasperation, “Probably not. But I don’t have anyone else who would be willing to room with me. I’m not winning any popularity contests anytime soon.”

“I could room with you,” Adora offered. She was honestly surprised that Catra hadn’t asked her about rooming together earlier. They had been planning on rooming together freshman year, but university policy required all freshmen to go random.

“You’re not rooming with your teammates?” Catra stopped rubbing her face to look at Adora in confusion, “I thought you were all ‘best friends squad’ now or whatever.”

 _Was that jealousy in Catra’s voice?_ Adora wondered. It’s not like Catra had anything to be jealous about; from the sound of it Catra had her own squad of friends now. Adora must be imagining things.

“I love my teammates, but Coach doesn’t want us to live together,” Adora explained, “We’re supposed to take time away from the team occasionally, which is hard to do if you live with them. Not to mention, roommate disputes could lead to issues on the field.” Adora would definitely enjoy rooming with Glimmer, or Perfuma, or maybe even Mermista, but she understood where her coach was coming from. Also, Adora would much rather room with Catra, even without her coach’s restriction.

“You’d want to room with me?” Catra asked, something akin to confusion evident in her voice. Insecurity, Adora decided.

“Um, yeah? We’re friends,” Adora said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it kind of was. She wasn’t really sure why Catra was making such a big deal out of this. Just because they had both been busy didn’t mean they couldn’t still be besties. Right?

Catra smiled for a moment before rearranging her face into a scowl, “Okay, let’s room together. But I want two singles. And doors. And a kitchen.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Adora nodded in agreement. She decided not to point out that rooms with kitchens were more expensive. At least they would be able to go off of the meal plan. Although, did Catra even know how to cook?

“To be clear, this is because I can’t deal with 6 am singing, not because you’re my only option,” Catra proclaimed, “I could definitely room with Scorpia and ‘Trapta if I wanted to.”

“Oh, of course,” Adora said teasingly. She wasn’t sure why that distinction was necessary, but she let it slide. Whatever made Catra comfortable rooming with her.

“Soooo… What are we watching tonight?” Catra asked, motioning towards Adora’s laptop.

“Pirates?” Adora asked. Their plan to room with each other had her feeling nostalgic, and she was pretty sure Catra felt the same. And it had been a while since she’d seen a love story that made her feel the way Will and Elizabeth made her feel.

Catra’s face lit up and she sat upright, “Oh fuck yes. You know I’d never pass up an opportunity to watch Kiera Knightly being a badass.”

Adora laughed, remembering the first time they had watched _Pirates of the_ _Caribbean_ together. She wasn’t sure if Catra had known she was gay before she watched that movie, but it was most certainly the first time Adora had seen Catra openly crushing on someone else. It was cute, the way Catra’s eyes widened whenever Elizabeth was on screen and how she wouldn’t stop talking about her for days after. It was still cute, the way Catra cheered and made comments under her breath during the movie.

Adora got her laptop out and they settled next to each other on her bed. Catra, who had always been tactile, sat flush against Adora and rested her head on Adora’s shoulder. Adora had missed Catra’s cuddly nature more than she cared to admit.

As the movie started, they quoted most of the lines word for word. Catra usually said Elizabeth’s lines while Adora said Will’s lines, and they switched who said Jack’s lines. It was like normal again; Catra still commented on how good Elizabeth looked after every costume change (her favorite costume was the British Navy uniform) and Adora still melted over the bandage scene. Adora hoped that some day she would have a romance with the same level of yearning and devotion.

After the movie ended, the pair spent some time reminiscing over their high school days.

“Remember the first time we saw that movie and you practically drooled over Elizabeth the entire time?” Adora asked playfully.

“Shut up, I was not _drooling_ ,” Catra protested.

“If you say so,” Adora shrugged, “Was that like your gay awakening?”

Ironically, Adora and Catra had never actually had this conversation. Adora had been the first person Catra had come out to during their freshman year of high school. In fact, up until college orientation, Adora had been the only person Catra was out to. The other girl remained closeted at home because of her religious adopted parents. Due to the emotional nature of Catra’s situation, Adora had never pried into it; she wanted Catra to give her information on her own terms.

“No, not really,” Catra shook her head, “I had already known I liked girls before that. Although, she was one of my first celebrity crushes.”

“How did you realize you were a lesbian then?” Adora asked, genuinely curious. If Adora was being honest, she had never really been attracted to anyone. She assumed that she was straight because she was attracted to fictional men and celebrities, but she had never developed a crush on someone she knew in person. She had always attributed that to the lack of eligible boys in her high school. High school boys were gross.

Catra hesitated before responding, “I don’t know, I guess I just noticed that girls were more attractive than guys. Whenever I had crushes, they would be on girls, and the idea of having a crush on a guy made me feel disgusting.”

 _Crushes? Catra never talks to me about her crushes._ “Wait, who did you have crushes on?”

“Um… girls in the grades above us mainly,” Catra stuttered, eyes widening in surprise. There was something she wasn’t telling Adora, but Adora didn’t want to pry. She knew it was hard for Catra to talk about her feelings, especially feelings like this.

“Yeah, there really weren’t very many attractive people at Horde High,” Adora agreed, thinking of their former classmates. Although, there were definitely more attractive girls than guys, so she was a little surprised Catra hadn’t developed a crush on someone in their class. Maybe none of the girls were her type.

“What time is it?” Catra asked abruptly, putting a clear end to the conversation.

Adora looked at the clock, “It’s almost eleven. Wow, that’s much later than I thought it was going to be.”

“Yeah. Listen, I need to get going. I have to meet some people for a project tomorrow morning,” Catra looked at Adora apologetically as she stood up.

“Oh yeah, of course, you should get going,” Adora nodded, ignoring the sinking feeling at the news that her best friend wouldn’t be staying the night like she did so often in high school, “See you soon?”

“Yeah, dummy,” Catra smiled back at Adora lightly before leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so regarding Catra's backstory basically she's Hispanic but her parents died when she was super young and she was adopted by Adora's neighbors who have a white savior complex (and are shitty people in general), essentially causing her to be disconnected with her culture (hence the learning Spanish now). I'm white but I didn't want to white wash these characters, so please let me know if there's any way I can improve!
> 
> I'm hoping to update once a week, probably on Sundays. As of right now, my plan is 12 chapters.
> 
> If you want to message me about this fic or about She-Ra and Catradora in general (or really anything gay), my tumblr is auspiciousships!!


	2. Photo Booth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your support last chapter, it really made my week!
> 
> This week is from Catra's POV and just a warning this girl has a lot of issues because it's Catra. So please read the tags because this chapter has a healthy dose of internalized homophobia and self confidence issues. I personally don't think it's too intense, but I just wanted to say that just in case.

Catra had a lot of problems. The biggest of her problems was that she was moving in with her best friend and long time crush who was most definitely too good and too popular for her. She would probably constantly have her new best friends over, rubbing the fact that she had finally found better friends into Catra’s face. 

Which was another problem Catra was having: although Adora was still Catra’s best friend, Catra was obviously not Adora’s. Adora had an entire team to befriend, as well as their friends and significant others. There was no way she would stick around with Catra for much longer. In fact, if it wasn’t for the “no rooming with teammates” rule, Catra would probably have already been kicked to the curb.

It almost physically pained Catra to think about how Adora had moved on without her. Adora had been Catra’s first and only friend. While the other kids bullied her and the adults wrote her off as a troubled child, Adora understood her. She understood that Catra misbehaved in class because she was bored and that she lashed out because she felt like she didn’t belong. Adora was everything to Catra, and now that Catra no longer had her as a constant in her life, she didn’t know what to do. Freshman year had been a harsh transition for Catra. She had learned what it felt like to be well and truly alone, and it took her a few months of wallowing in her own self pity before her plummeting grades forced her to turn to Scorpia and Entrapta for help.

Not that Adora knew about any of this. The other girl was blissfully unaware of Catra’s near brush with academic probation first semester and Catra intended on keeping it that way. She couldn’t give Adora the satisfaction of knowing how much her absence impacted Catra, not when Catra’s absence didn’t impact her at all.

Then there was this new, third problem Catra was running into, which was that Adora had literally no worldly possessions. Seriously. She showed up to their new apartment with two suitcases: one full of clothes and the other full of toiletries and cookware. Not a single decoration in sight.

“Adora, this seriously can’t be everything,” Catra sighed, glaring at the tiny pile of desk supplies that was neatly stacked on the corner of Adora’s desk.

“Yeah. Mom went through a huge minimalist phase over the summer and made me throw out most of my old stuff. Something about ‘holding onto old memories,’” Adora laughed as if that wasn’t one of the saddest things Catra had ever heard.

“Okay, but what about Swift Wind?” Catra pointed out. Swift Wind was the name of Adora’s favorite unicorn stuffed animal that Catra had won for her at their local amusement park. Adora took him with her everywhere, despite her mother’s protest that she was too old for stuffed animals. He had emotional significance.

Adora shook her head, “He didn’t make the cut. Mom said he was forcing me to live in the past.”

“Seriously? What the fuck,” Catra swore. She had never been a huge fan of Adora’s mother, but forcing her daughter to throw away things she was emotionally connected to? Fuck her.

“Hey! She’s just trying to help me grow,” Adora defended halfheartedly, “But yeah, I was pretty angry when I heard she had donated Swiftie. She could’ve at least asked first.”

“Or she could have kept her hands off of your stuff. You’re an adult now,” Catra fumed.

Adora laughed, most likely in an attempt to calm Catra down, “Seriously, it’s no big deal. We’ll just have to get new things to make emotional attachments with!”

“No, it is a big deal. Why can’t you see that?” Catra argued, “You act like your parents are super great but they’re just as shitty as mine. Would it kill you to be angry for once?”

“Catra, please calm down,” Adora put her arm on Catra’s shoulder.

Catra did not want to be calm right now. She wanted Adora to understand that her parents were the worst so that she could join the shitty parents club and they could actually talk about their issues without Adora looking at Catra with pity in her eyes, as if Catra was the only person to ever have issues with her parents.

So Catra jerked out of Adora’s grasp and stormed out of the room, yelling, “I don’t want to be calm,” over her shoulder. Once at the doorway to her own--actually furnished--room, she slammed the door. It really was satisfying, to have an actual door between her and her roommate to slam dramatically during high stress situations.

Once in her room, Catra curled up into a ball on her bed. She knew it wasn’t fair for her to lash out at Adora like that, just like it wasn’t fair for her to pull away from Adora last year. But in her defense, Adora didn’t chase her then and Adora was refusing to criticize her “perfect” life now. If only Catra could get better at controlling her emotions, then she might actually be able to tell Adora why she was so upset.

But it was always hard around Adora. Adora had been Catra’s first friend and later her first crush. Catra’s crush had persisted even as she gained and lost other crushes, possibly even worsening with time. When Catra first realized she liked Adora as more than a friend, she had violently attempted to suppress it. She felt like a disgusting predator, taking advantage of her unsuspecting friend. Even now, despite knowing that her feelings are natural and not predatory, Catra occasionally caught herself suppressing her feelings. It led to a lot of complicated emotions and was ultimately why she lashed out at Adora more than the other girl deserved.

Catra remembered how terrified she was when she came out to Adora. She thought Adora might think she was disgusting, unnatural, or a sinner. Like those “heathens” her parents talked about whenever pride month came around. She thought Adora might realize her crush and leave, horrified. But instead, Adora was open and accepting. She didn’t force Catra to say more than she needed to, and she never made Catra feel like her sexuality was wrong. It was almost too much, the saccharine way in which Adora made her feel like maybe she could be okay.

Adora deserved better from her, Catra decided. Adora deserved to not be the focus of all of Catra’s personal issues. Catra needed to stop lashing out at her best friend every time she felt insecure and start being an actually supportive friend. Or acquaintance or roommate or whatever they were to each other now. More importantly, Catra needed to get over Adora.

Catra had no idea how to get over a crush, but she would figure it out. She had tried giving it space, but that had just made her more clingy and afraid of being abandoned. Perhaps it was time for Catra to see other people. If she found someone else she liked, maybe she could finally simplify these emotions she had for Adora. It was worth a shot, at least.

\---

“Hey, Adora,” Catra said quietly as she knocked on the other girl’s door. With her new plan, Catra was feeling calmer and ready to apologize to her friend. Which was scary because she had never made a sincere apology before.

“Catra?” Adora called back from inside of her room, “What’s up?”

“I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier,” Catra admitted, ignoring her internal voice, which screamed _don’t say you’re sorry it makes you look weak_ , “Can I come in?”

The door opened, revealing Adora smiling at her brightly. Catra swallowed, realizing it was going to be extremely hard to get over her friend. She was just so radiant and bright and beautiful and everything Catra was not.

“Of course,” Adora motioned for Catra to enter the room.

Catra perched herself on the edge of Adora’s bed awkwardly, “I’m sorry I yelled and I’m sorry I insulted your parents. You can feel whatever you want about them, and it’s not really my business. It just made me upset to see that they violated your privacy, because you know how my parents did that all the time.”

“It’s okay,” Adora crossed the room to pull Catra into a hug, “I know you had to be super careful about what you had on your phone so you wouldn’t get outed. I get why my parents going through my stuff would freak you out. Let’s move on. After all, now that I’m not at home I’m free to hoard anything I want, so we need to go shopping!”

Catra allowed herself to melt into Adora’s hug. Adora had always given the best hugs, warm and firm. It was if she was trying to reassure her that she wasn’t going anywhere. It would always be Adora and Catra against the world. _No, stop thinking that,_ Catra scolded herself, _you’re supposed to be getting over Adora, not reminiscing over how safe you feel with her._

“Yeah, let’s get you some stuff,” Catra finally agreed, her voice muffled by the other girl’s shoulder.

Adora stood up excitedly, snapping Catra out of the comfortable haze she had allowed herself to slip into, “Great! Let’s go!”

“Woah, right now?” Catra’s eyes widened in surprise. Between unpacking, being reminded that Adora’s parents were worse than the other girl admitted, yelling at her best friend, having a rare moment of introspection, and then actually apologizing to someone for the first time in a very long time, Catra had had a very long day.

“Unless you have something else to do?” Adora hesitated, “It’s not like this room is going to decorate itself!”

Catra couldn’t say no to Adora when she looked at her with that excited puppy expression, so she relented, “I guess you’re right. What store?”

Adora shrugged, “I was just thinking we’d wander around that outdoor mall until we found one that looked interesting.”

“Of course you don't have a plan,” Catra smirked as she stood up. Adora had never been a planner, instead preferring to let the heat of the moment inform their decisions. Which drove Catra--who was a meticulous planner--insane when they first met, but she had learned to live with it.

“You don’t need a plan to have fun, Catra,” Adora recited, as she had said so many times before. Catra rolled her eyes at the familiar comment and allowed Adora to lead the way to the subway.

Once at the outdoor mall, Adora began happily window shopping, ignoring Catra’s protests that there was a directory _right there_ and they could just look to see where the good stores were.

They wandered around the mall for a while, Catra power walking as usual as Adora yelled at her to slow down.

“Catra, wait up! We’re supposed to be window shopping,” Adora called after her desperately.

“Window shop faster then,” Catra shot back, “Or pick a store. Just staring at windows isn’t going to decorate your room.”

Suddenly, Adora grabbed Catra’s hand, “Catra, _slow down_. We can just wander and have a good time. There’s no rush.”

Catra stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at Adora, who was smiling at her hopefully. She fought the urge to entwine their fingers like they used to do as kids. She couldn’t take advantage of Adora like that. She might be cuddly, but she drew the line at anything that could be considered romantic.

“Okay, I’ll slow down. Happy?” Catra said as she ripped her hand from Adora’s grasp. Adora looked hurt for a moment before regaining her composure and falling into step next to Catra. True to her word, Catra tried her best to walk slower so Adora could properly gawk at the tacky store displays. Although gawking was perhaps too harsh a word for the excited, almost innocent, enthusiasm with which Adora looked at each of the store’s windows.

“Catra, look at that!” Adora exclaimed as she stopped abruptly and pointed at something. Catra swore under her breath as she almost crashed into Adora’s arm before turning her head in the direction her friend was pointing. 

“What is that?” Catra demanded. She wasn’t one for large malls--most of her clothes were hand me downs or from online--so maybe this was some common mall thing she didn’t know about. It looked like some sort of changing room, but that didn’t make much sense because it wasn’t in a store. But it was about the right size and it had a curtain like a changing room.

“You’re serious?” Adora asked from beside her, laughter evident in her voice, “It’s a photo booth, silly!”

“Never heard of one,” Catra admitted. And by the sound of it she wouldn’t like it. As a rule, she didn’t like having her picture taken. It was a reminder that she was different: her mismatched eyes that earned her the nickname “mutant” in elementary school, her freckles that marred her face, and her darker skin tone that made her stick out like a sore thumb in her painfully white hometown. Hell, she even stuck out in her own “family” pictures; a small, tan girl in the shadow of her white adoptive parents and siblings.

The blonde looked at her in surprise, “You’re lying. You’ve never been in a photo booth?”

“Again, no idea what you’re going on about.”

“Well we have to change that! They’re so much fun!” Adora declared before grabbing onto Catra’s hand again and dragging her to the not dressing room. Catra did her best to put on a show of reluctance, although she was actually excited to see what all the fuss was about. Anything that made Adora happy was okay in Catra’s book.

Adora unceremoniously shoved Catra into the booth before climbing in next to her. Catra did her best not to blush at the other girl’s sudden proximity. Adora smiled at her for a few seconds, almost in reassurance, before leaning in. Catra’s brain short-circuited momentarily as Adora’s face got closer. _This is not what I expected photo booths were used for,_ Catra thought desperately.

“Hey, can you scoot over? The place to pay is right behind you,” Adora said, snapping Catra out of her panic. Of course, the place to pay to take their photos. In a _photo_ booth. Catra mentally scolded herself for thinking Adora wanted to do anything else but take pictures.

“Oh, sorry,” Catra blinked at Adora before scooting to let her insert her debit card, “So how exactly does this work?”

“You go in the booth and it takes your picture,” Adora summarized as she clicked through options on the screen in front of them which seemed to offer different backgrounds or something.

“Yeah, I got that part,” Carta crossed her arms defensively, “But when does it know to take the picture?”

“It’s on a timer,” The other girl offered as she clicked a green confirm button on the screen, “Now smile!”

Catra turned her attention to the screen, which now reflected the image of her and Adora back to them with some numbers in the corner. Numbers that were counting down. Catra decided to take Adora’s lead and smile at the camera as best as she could. Catra had never loved her smile, but she knew Adora would appreciate the effort. After a few beeps, the screen flashed white.

“Okay, now let’s do a silly one!” Adora suggested before sticking out her tongue. Catra didn’t realize there was going to be more than one, so her mind blanked. She finally settled for throwing up a peace sign and winking.

The screen flashed white again, and Catra turned to look at Adora, who still had her tongue out.

“You look ridiculous,” Catra observed, dangerously close to laughing at her best friend. Adora’s eyes widened at the playful insult before breaking out into a wide smile. Catra couldn’t help but cover her hand with her mouth and look away as she laughed, barely even noticing the third white flash on the screen.

Then Adora began laughing, and looped her arm around Catra’s shoulders and pulled her closer.

“That’s the point, dummy,” Adora said between giggles. Adora didn’t seem to be posing anymore so Catra assumed the whole photo booth thing was over with. She took the time to really look at Adora. Her friend was so beautiful when she was happy. Her eyes crinkled in a genuine smile and the joy radiating from her laugh was almost infectious. Catra couldn’t help but smile back at her friend. A smaller smile, but one that was more genuine than the smile she used in pictures.

Catra’s thoughts were interrupted by another clicking noise and the screen flashing white for a fourth time. _Well shit, now she has a picture of me looking like an idiot._

“How many of these are there?” Catra asked, crossing her arms defensively. Although she was having fun with Adora, this photo booth was wearing her patience thin. A girl could only stand to have her picture taken so many times in one sitting.

“That was the last one,” Adora promised, looking directly at Catra, “Now we just have to wait for the pictures to print.”

Sure enough, after a few moments, two strips of paper came out of the machine. Adora grabbed them excitedly, handing one to Catra before examining the one in her hands. As promised, there were the four pictures, laid over a blue background with the words “Best Friends” written in a silvery cursive font along the bottom. Catra quickly pocketed the photos before she started insulting her appearance. The last thing this outing needed was self-deprecating thoughts.

“I love this! I’m definitely putting this in my room,” Adora decided, looking down at the pictures fondly.

“At least you’ll have one decoration,” Catra huffed, valiantly attempting to ignore the happiness that sparked inside her at the thought of Adora displaying pictures of the two of them in her room.

“Oh right, shopping,” Adora remembered, “Let’s get out of here and buy some stuff!”

Catra spent the rest of her afternoon being dragged around by an excited Adora. They did manage to actually make their way inside a few stores, and Adora even bought a few knickknacks. By dinner time, they had made their way back to the apartment and ordered a pizza.

Later that night, Catra dug the pictures out of her bag and took a long look at them. It turned out she had yet another problem.

The first picture was cute. She and Adora were both smiling nicely at the camera. It looked like a yearbook photo--forced but not overly so. The next picture wasn’t so bad either. Adora’s tongue was sticking out comically while Catra winked in a way that was surprisingly more suave than embarrassing. Even the third picture was okay, with Adora looking at Catra as if Catra had just told a joke and she was in the middle of processing it while Catra laughed beside her.

None of those pictures were the problem. But the fourth picture? That was a problem.

The fourth picture showed Adora, arm casually slung over Catra’s shoulders and laughing at the camera like she was the happiest person on the entire planet. And then there was Catra, who wasn’t looking at the camera at all. Instead, she was looking up at Adora, with a private and adoring smile on her face that so clearly said _I love you_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember once reading a post about how best friend breakups hit differently than actual breakups but multi-year homoerotic best friend breakups are a whole other level. I guess this is why we can all relate to these too, huh?
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Depending on my work schedule I *might* post something like mid-week (Wednesday or Thursday) but if not I'll definitely have the next chapter up next Saturday.


	3. Aquarium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note for logistics, I moved the Scorfuma and Glimbow tag from relationships to the normal tags because I didn't want to muddy up those tags with a fic that's focused on Catradora. They'll still be in the fic though!
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Adora awoke to the sun streaming through her window. It was Sunday, her day off, so she was actually able to sleep in a bit. Adora had always loved the quietness of Sunday mornings. She and Catra usually made breakfast together before writing their grocery list for the next week. Then they played rock-paper-scissors to determine which one of them was going to have to go out and brave the grocery store that day. Although, Adora had a habit of convincing Catra to come with her whenever it was her turn.

Excited to start her Sunday routine, Adora made her way to the kitchen where she was confronted with someone who was most certainly _not_ Catra. She was shorter and more muscular and had darker skin and wild, curly hair.

“Hello?” Adora greeted, confused. This woman wasn’t Scorpia or Entrapta, and Adora couldn’t for the life of her think of anyone else Catra spent time with. _How did she get in here?_

“Oh, hi. You must be the roommate,” The mysterious woman greeted, “I’m Octavia.”

Adora narrowed her eyes at the intruder, “I’m Adora. What are you doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Octavia laughed as she continued to rummage through their cupboards. Adora realized belatedly that Octavia’s clothes looked crumpled and already worn and definitely were not pajamas. 

Adora was about to tell this woman that no, it was not obvious when the other woman turned around and asked, “Where do you keep your coffee?”

“I don’t know, I don’t drink coffee,” Adora shrugged, “You’d have to ask Catra. Do you know if she’s up yet?” _Did this woman spend the night in Catra’s bed?_ Adora wondered. She definitely couldn’t imagine someone crashing on their old couch, and it’s not like they had a spare set of blankets.

“Last I checked she wasn’t up. She’s probably pretty tired,” Octavia said, obviously intending Adora to glean some sort of hidden meaning from the words. Adora failed to do so.

“Well then you’ll just have to wait for her to get up,” Adora said shortly. She didn’t really want to deal with some random woman that Catra apparently knew on her perfect Sunday morning. She just wanted to make an omelette and drink some orange juice and spend time slowly but surely rekindling her friendship with Catra.

“Wait for who to get up?” Came a voice from the hallway, still raspy and deep from sleep. Adora felt relief (and _only_ relief) rush through her. Now she wouldn’t be forced to talk to this woman on her own.

“Oh, Catra, where do you keep your coffee?” Octavia asked, tone giving Adora no insights into what her relationship with her roommate was.

“Second cupboard, third shelf,” Catra shot back, rubbing her eyes. She did look more tired than usual, Adora noted, which was impressive. Catra was pre-med after all, so she had a rigorous course load that often had her staying up extremely late to finish assignments.

Octavia successfully located the coffee and began brewing a pot. An awkward silence descended on the trio as Octavia worked her way around Catra’s coffee machine. Adora hated it. She had to say _something._

“So, how do you two know each other?” Adora tried. Based on Catra’s glare, it was not the right thing to ask.

“We’re in the same genetics class,” Catra said, and Octavia nodded in agreement.

“So are you like working on a project together?” Adora continued, still trying to figure out what Catra and Octavia being in the same class had to do with Octavia ruining her Sunday morning.

Octavia scoffed, “You could say that” at the same time Catra sighed, “No, Adora.”

“Well which is it?” Adora demanded, looking to her friend who just looked back at her tiredly.

“Adora, Octavia’s the person I went to the movie with last night,” Catra said, as if that would make everything make sense to Adora. Which it didn’t, but at this point Adora was just inclined to play along.

“Oooh, got it,” Adora nodded, “I totally understand what’s going on now.”

“Good,” Catra said, her eyes narrowing as Adora continued to smile as if nothing was wrong. After a few more moments, Octavia handed her a mug of coffee, which Catra began drinking without taking her eyes off of Adora, as if analyzing her reaction. _Why is she acting so weird?_

Octavia didn’t seem like one for conversation, so Adora settled for making small talk with Catra about the new Spanish professor. They had different sections, but they were still getting the same assignments. And they were a pain in the ass.

After what felt like a painful amount of time, Octavia interrupted their conversation, “Catra, I’m going to head out. I’ll talk to you later?”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Catra nodded as Octavia let herself out. She waited until the door clicked behind the third girl before turning to Adora, “So you have no idea what’s happening, do you?”

“No, not really,” Adora sighed. She had never been known for her observation skills.

“Octavia and I went on a date last night, and then she came back here so we could hook up.”

“Oh,” Adora said dumbly. _That’s_ what was happening? Catra was dating? And having sex? Since when?

“You okay there?” Catra asked, looking at Adora with concern. 

“Yeah, just surprised. I didn’t know you were looking for a relationship,” Adora looked back at Catra’s mismatched eyes (which Adora has always found gorgeous despite Catra’s insecurities), trying to reassure her friend, and herself, that she was okay. Which was easier said than done as she felt a pang of unease deep in her gut. It almost felt like betrayal, but what was she betrayed by? Catra was allowed to date. It’s not like she was dating Adora or anything. It’s not like Adora even _wanted_ to date Catra. Adora was fine with the way things were currently.

“I dunno, isn’t everybody?” Catra shrugged, obviously unaware of Adora’s current emotional turmoil.

“I’m not,” Adora pointed out. She had never been particularly interested in relationships, and she didn’t really anticipate that changing anytime soon. Her friendship with Catra had always been enough for her; she had never found herself craving the emotional intimacy people who were in relationships were always talking about.

“You’re not?” Catra asked, clearly surprised.

“No,” Adora confirmed, “I’m so busy with school and practice that I probably wouldn’t be a great girlfriend in the first place. And I just don’t see the point. It’s not like a relationship could give me anything that friendships don’t already.”

Catra shifted in her seat uncomfortably, “What about sex?”

“What about it?”

“Don’t you want to have sex?” Catra rolled her eyes as if what she was asking was obvious.

“I don’t know, I guess,” Adora shrugged. She didn’t make a habit of thinking about sex, especially not about sex with people she knew in real life. Usually it was some faceless, nameless man with few concrete features.

“You guess?” The other girl demanded, sounding almost offended, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

It was Adora’s turn to shift uncomfortably in her seat, “I guess I don’t really think about it? Like, sex would be cool if the opportunity presented itself but I don’t want to spent time actively seeking it out. It’s not like I want to have sex with any of the guys I know.”

Her friend nodded in consideration, “Interesting. So if someone who was really hot came around you’d be down but nobody you’ve met has caught your eye?”

“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Is that weird?”

“I don’t think it’s weird. You probably just have a lower-than-average sex drive or something.”

Adora hadn’t really thought of it before, but now that Catra mentioned it Adora had always felt like everyone else was unusually obsessed with sex. Adora was a virgin, so she had always just assumed that she didn’t get the hype because she hadn’t experienced it before. But maybe she just wanted it less than other people.

“So, do you want to make breakfast now? I’m starving,” Catra announced, dragging Adora’s train of thought back into reality. Now that Octavia was gone they could have a normal Sunday.

Except Adora couldn’t stop thinking about Octavia. It upset her, that Catra would start a relationship and not tell her. They were friends, and friends were supposed to talk about stuff like that, right? So why did Catra not feel as if she could talk to Adora about this?

And what did a relationship mean for their friendship? Neither of them had been in a relationship in high school, but from what she had heard the goal of dating was to find someone to be your best friend; the person you dated became your life, and you ended up spending all of your time with them. Which meant Catra felt that her friendship with Adora wasn’t enough and was looking to other people to fill the void. Catra might even leave her for Octavia if things got serious.

The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable it made her feel. The thought of Catra kissing Octavia made her upset. The mere fact that she knew Catra did more than kiss Octavia made her skin crawl.

 _Oh God, am I a homophobe?_ Adora asked herself. She couldn’t be, could she? In high school, she was so obsessed with being a supportive ally that her parents had asked her if she was attracted to women. She was friends with gay couples. Netossa and Spinnerella were dating and she was fine with it. She had met Bow’s parents and she thought they were cute! But she just couldn’t shake the feeling that the idea of Catra dating another woman made her upset. She really was a terrible person.

“Hey! Adora!” Catra practically yelled as she waved her hands in front of Adora’s face, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Adora reassured her friend. She was far from fine, but the last thing she wanted to do was tell her friend she wasn’t okay with her being gay. Catra relied on her for emotional support, and she wanted to avoid crushing the trust they had worked so long to foster.

“You don’t seem fine,” The other girl pointed out, raising her eyebrows in suspicion.

“I guess I’m just stressed. I have a micro economics test coming up,” Adora lied.

Catra stared back at her with heterochromatic eyes, obviously unconvinced, “Are you sure? You zoned out for a good minute. Seems like more than stress to me.”

“Catra, I’m fine, I promise,” Adora protested, “You don’t have to worry about me. I just need to de-stress, that’s all.”

“Well then we should go to the aquarium!” Catra announced excitedly, unconsciously scooting forward in her chair.

“Sounds like fun,” Adora agreed. Catra had always loved animals more than people, so the trip would make her friend happy, and Adora could use the distraction from her possible homophobic tendencies. A day at the aquarium was just what the duo needed.

Catra excitedly told Adora about the new shark exhibit as she bought their tickets online. Catra had always been a fan of predators, especially those with cool teeth (like sharks) or sharp claws (like tigers). As she talked, her voice got faster and she stopped using words like “whatever” and “or something,” which was a sure sign that she was passionate about what she was saying. Adora had always admired Catra’s capacity to be passionate about the things she loved.

With their tickets purchased, Adora called an uber and they made their way across the city. Adora spent most of the trip looking out the window, too embarrassed to meet her friend’s eyes. Catra pulled up a map of the aquarium on her phone and was busy mapping out the best route for their visit.

When they arrived at the aquarium’s entrance, Catra practically jumped out of the car. She grabbed Adora’s wrist and all but dragged Adora to the ticket window, where she brandished their pre-purchased tickets as if it was a badge of honor. The person behind the counter let them in with an amused smile at her friend’s excitement.

“So I was thinking we start with the sea otters and then we could go to the kelp forest and after that we could end with the open ocean exhibit. That’s where the sharks are, so we should save it for last,” Catra explained casually, as if she hadn’t meticulously crafted the perfect plan on the drive over.

“You’re the one with the plan,” Adora prompted. She knew Catra enjoyed it when people listened to her plans, and it’s not like she had an opinion either way. Although sea otters sounded cute.

“Great! The otters are this way,” Catra pointed to their left before breaking out into a power walk that was really more of a jog. Adora was glad her friend’s hand remained wrapped around her wrist because otherwise she would have fallen behind.

As promised, they quickly arrived at the sea otter exhibit. It had an upstairs and downstairs portion so they could watch the sea otters dive to the bottom of the exhibit as well as float on the top of the water. Catra, seeming to know exactly where the best viewing spot was, led Adora up the stairs and to one of the windows. Where Adora was confronted face-first with the cutest otter she had ever seen.

“Oh my god, Catra, look! He’s so cute,” Adora exclaimed. The otter was rubbing their face with its paws, causing the fur around its face to puff up.

“Actually, all of the otters here are girls,” Catra corrected, “Did you know that this aquarium uses their otters to raise orphaned pups? So she’s like a foster mother.”

“Really? That’s so cool!” Adora said before turning back to the otter in front of them, “Are you a good momma? I bet you are!”

Beside her, Catra laughed at Adora’s baby talk. Catra didn’t laugh often, so every time Adora was able to make her laugh was a small victory. She felt pride rush through her as her friend smiled.

Much too soon, the otter finished her grooming session and swam away. Adora tried to hide her disappointment at the loss of her new friend.

“Hey, it’s okay. We still have a lot to see. Let’s move on to the kelp forest,” Catra offered, as if sensing Adora’s drop in mood. Adora nodded, and Catra’s hand was back around her wrist as she was guided to their next location.

The kelp forest exhibit was two stories tall, with colorful kelp gently swaying and fish darting between rocks. It wasn’t nearly as cute as the sea otters, but Catra seemed intrigued.

“Did you know this exhibit is attached to the ocean? That’s why everything is swaying,” Catra explained, her eyes glued to the kelp forest above them in awe. The light from the room reflected off the water and covered Catra’s face in a slight glow. She looked so content, just watching the fish swimming between the kelp. Her best friend really was beautiful.

“That’s interesting,” Adora encouraged. She didn’t really care about all of these facts, but Catra obviously did. And if it was important to Catra, it was important to Adora.

“Look at that!” Catra pointed excitedly to a large orange and black fish floating in the middle of the exhibit.

“Um, you mean the fish?” Adora asked, unsure what exactly Catra was so excited about.

“That’s a male sheephead,” Catra said, as if that meant something, “They can change their gender. Females can become males if there aren’t enough males around.”

“How does that even happen?” Adora wondered aloud in the hopes that her friend would keep talking.

“Probably hormones or something,” Catra shrugged, “I don’t think it could happen any other way.”

Adora hummed in assent. Catra was probably right. She was the biology major after all. And she’d probably been researching the aquarium for weeks before she brought up the idea to Adora.

“So can we see the sharks?” Adora asked after a few minutes of Catra staring at the kelp forest in silence. It was fun to look at Catra’s face for the first minute or so, but Adora was starting to get bored.

“Oh right, the sharks!” Catra smiled widely, “Let’s go! It’s back the way we came.”

Adora let herself be led back through the aquarium. She wondered if Catra had been here before; she certainly knew the layout of the place like the back of her hand. Although, Catra had always been good with maps.

They made their way to the open ocean exhibit, which was even bigger than the kelp forest exhibit. And was underwhelmingly empty, save for the fish inside it. Like no kelp, no rocks, nothing. Just fish.

“Why is it so empty?” Adora asked her friend, who was busy finding them the best place to sit.

“It’s modeled after the open ocean, which is a whole lot of nothing,” Catra explained before motioning for Adora to sit down.

“So if it’s a whole lot of nothing, what’s so special about it?”

“This is the only aquarium with the capacity to display a great white shark,” Catra informed her. Adora didn’t know what made a great white shark different from any other shark, but it sounded scary.

“Oh,” Adora said, hoping her friend would accept that as a valid answer.

Catra turned to look at her with a smirk, “You know, like Bruce from Finding Nemo? And the shark from Jaws.”

“Oh!” Adora lit up. Now she knew what Catra was talking about.

Suddenly, Catra was leaning into her space, knocking their shoulders together as she pointed at something in the tank.

“Look! There it is!” Catra announced triumphantly as the rest of the crowd “oohed” in the background. Adora resisted the urge to wrap her friend in a hug that always came whenever they made contact with one another and followed Catra’s hand. Sure enough, there was an impressive looking shark circling the tank.

“I thought it would be bigger,” Adora noted.

Catra rolled her eyes, “Only you would see a great white in person and be unimpressed. It’s a juvenile, so it’s not fully grown yet. They’ll have to release it when it gets that big. This tank isn’t big enough.”

“Kind of like how we stayed at home when we were younger, but now that we’re grown up we moved to Bright Moon.”

“You’re such a sap.”

“But I’m right!”

Catra shrugged, “I think we still have a lot of growing to do.”

Adora turned her attention from the tank to her friend, who was looking at the shark with almost a wistful expression. What could she possibly mean from that? Did she know that Adora was harboring resentment towards her romantic life? Or was she talking about herself? Although Adora considered Catra to be her best friend, the other girl remained an enigma. Hopefully rooming together would help them reforge their bond, and Adora could understand her best friend better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so low libido/sex drive is not equivalent to asexuality/lack of sexual attraction, which is what Adora is experiencing. But these two grew up pretty sheltered so there's no way they would know the difference, and it's pretty common for people who are learning about asexuality for the first time to mix them up.
> 
> The aquarium they visit is based off of the Monterey Bay Aquarium which I used to visit as a kid! They're really involved in sea otter conservation and have an awesome program for orphaned sea otters so if that's something that interests you, you should check it out! They also hold the record for longest time holding a great white shark in captivity, but they don't display them anymore. And the sheephead thing is true too :)
> 
> I'm aiming for the next chapter to come out next Saturday, but I'm pretty busy this week so it might be next Sunday. We'll see how fast I can edit.


	4. Coffee Shop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry but the title of this chapter is kind of misleading... You will unfortunately not be getting not be getting a cute coffee shop date, but you will meet Bow and Glimmer so hopefully that makes up for it?
> 
> Also Adora plays field hockey because in my high school I knew three of the girls on the field hockey team and two were lesbians and one was bi so it's officially a wlw sport.

Catra was lost. On her own fucking campus no less. She was looking for the coffee shop Adora had asked to meet her in, but instead she was just running laps around the biology and engineering buildings. 

_According to the map it should be right here_ , Catra fumed as she resisted the urge to smash her phone on the ground. She had always prided herself on her skill to read maps and navigate, but today she just couldn’t seem to figure it out.

It was probably because she was distracted. After going on a few more dates with Octavia, the other girl told her she didn’t think they were going to work out. Which was fine--it’s not like Catra was particularly fond of Octavia; after all, she was no Adora--but now that meant Catra was trying to find another girl to distract her from Adora. Which was easier said than done with a personality as comforting as an open biohazard container and in a city with a major hookup culture. It had been about a month since her first encounter with Octavia, and she was already tired of dating.

 _Focus, Catra. Adora and her stupid friends were expecting you five minutes ago._ She didn’t particularly want to witness Adora being stolen out from under her by her new friends in person, but she was invited and Catra just couldn’t say no to Adora. Plus, it would be nice to put a face to the people who had stolen her best friend from her. It was this mysterious Glimmer’s fault for scheduling team bonding night on Saturdays, which prevented movie night from becoming a regular thing again. As a result, she hadn’t spent much time with Adora since they went to the aquarium last month, and their Sunday breakfast routine had become their only time to talk to each other each week. For her part, Catra had tried inviting Adora to Entrapta’s movie nights, but the athlete was always busy. 

She took a few deep breaths and sat on the grass-covered plaza in between two buildings to find her bearings. Finally, she realized the cafe was underneath the English building, which was overshadowed by the newer, larger engineering building. No wonder she couldn’t find it.

Doing her best to not look like she was on a murderous rampage (which, if the reactions of those around here were anything to go by, she failed miserably at), Catra made her way to the new cafe, Mystacore Brewery. It was actually pretty nice, with fairy lights along the ceiling and a mural of trees painted on the walls. She made a mental note to ask Entrapta if she wanted to play D&D here instead of in her and Scorpia’s cluttered apartment.

After doing a sweep of the shop, she saw her friend sitting in the center of the cafe across from a man and a woman. Catra had seen the woman in Adora’s games. She was short but well built, and her hair was dyed an annoying bubblegum pink. Next to her was a man with dark skin and a distinctive crop top. Catra had never seen him in her life, but he looked exactly like someone the other girl would hang around.

“Hey,” Catra greeted awkwardly as she walked up to the group. She still wasn’t exactly sure why Adora had invited her to her weekly Saturday brunch. Adora hadn’t shown any desire to spend more time with Catra recently, so the invitation came seemingly out of nowhere. Catra wanted to believe that Adora missed her, but it was more likely that she felt bad for Catra. Or maybe she was planning a party or something and wanted to get on Catra’s good side before asking her to help host.

“Oh Catra, you’re here! I was worried you wouldn’t come,” Adora said, motioning for Catra to sit in the vacant seat next to her.

“And miss out on all this fun? You wish,” Catra joked sarcastically. The last thing she wanted was Adora’s friends thinking she liked them. She felt herself smirking as she saw the pair shift uncomfortably out of the corner of her eye. Mission accomplished.

“Hey, brunch is fun!” Adora protested.

“You tell yourself that,” Catra scoffed, “And did you order this for me?”

In front of Catra was a cappuccino with a paw print pattern. It was cute.

“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t want to go up to the counter on your own after we’d all already ordered, so I did my best,” Adora explained with a smile, “I hope I got it right. I’m not great at coffee terms.” She motioned to her tea as if to remind Catra she didn’t drink coffee.

Catra took a sip. It was pretty good. Perhaps a little sweet for her liking, but it was definitely better than the shit her coffee maker made. And it was all that much better by the fact that Adora knew her well enough to know what she would have ordered. The thought made her smile.

“Well you pretty much nailed it. This is exactly what I would have ordered,” Catra informed her friend as she relaxed her posture, feeling less defensive now. Adora’s smile widened. “So are you going to introduce me to your friends or am I just going to have to make up my own names for them?”

“Oh, right! Well this is Glimmer. You’ve met before. She’s one of our midfielders. And this is Bow. He’s on the men’s field hockey team, so we train with him occasionally.”

“It’s nice to meet you! We’ve heard a lot about you,” Bow greeted with a smile wide enough to rival Adora’s.

“You have?” Catra asked, glancing over to Adora in surprise. Why was Adora talking about her with her new friends? Were they making fun of her?

“Yeah, Adora talks about you _all_ the time,” Glimmer added, either not sensing Catra’s confusion or deliberately ignoring it in favor of making fun of Adora. Who was smiling sheepishly at Glimmer’s obvious jab as if she was embarrassed.

“All good things I’m sure,” Catra scoffed sarcastically. Adora probably complained about Catra’s clinginess and caustic attitude. She could imagine Adora at Glimmer’s apartment--which was probably overrun with fuzzy throw pillows and unironic “live laugh love” signs--laughing at some stupid inside joke with her friends and saying “I’m so glad I ditched movie night with Catra for this.” It must be pretty annoying, to have a roommate who wanted to do everything with you because her only other social interactions were her weekly D&D sessions. 

“Oh yeah! And she showed us all of the videos from your gymnastics competitions. You were amazing,” Bow said, eyes practically sparkling. So that’s what Adora was showing them. 

Adora and Catra were on the same gymnastics team when they were in elementary school. Adora eventually bulked up and moved on to field hockey, but Catra was all lean muscle and quick reflexes, so she stayed. She was one of the best in their region, and she could have been successful. She probably could have earned a sports scholarship somewhere. That is, until her parents forced her to stop sophomore year. 

“Yeah! Why did you quit?” Glimmer asked, her head tilted to the side innocently. So Adora didn’t tell them everything.

From beside her, Adora was making frantic _stop it_ motions with her hands, obviously intending for Catra not to see.

“Adora, it’s fine,” Catra looked off to the side, exposed. But she continued, as if to prove that she didn’t need the other girl to protect her. Which she didn’t. “I didn’t make nationals so I had to choose: academics or gymnastics. And my parents made it pretty clear what the right choice was.” 

“What? Didn’t you quit your sophomore year?” Bow asked, outraged.

“What the fuck, how do you even know that? Did you like stalk me or something?” Catra demanded. How dare Adora’s friends barge into her life and steal the only thing that matters only to pretend like they knew each other?

Adora put her hand on Catra’s forearm comfortingly, “Catra, they’re not stalking you I promise. I was just showing them your old beam routines and they wanted to know why they stopped after you turned 16.”

Catra let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding at the contact. She looked at Adora, who was smiling at her reassuringly, eyes silently pleading with her to make nice with her friends. “Okay, I’ll give you a pass. But you’re on thin fucking ice, Arrow.”

“It’s Bow!” Bow protested.

“Don’t care,” Catra shrugged, feeling in control of the situation again, “And yeah, I quit sophomore year. 16 is like the prime age for gymnasts, so if you haven’t made it then, you never will. Might as well get out while you still have a chance to get good at something else.”

“But you _were_ good at gymnastics,” Bow insisted, seeing an opportunity for a pep talk. “You were amazing! If you had just stuck with it, you could have been great! You shouldn’t have to give up something you love just because you had a minor setback!”

“You think I don’t know that?” Catra snapped, glaring at the boy who had the nerve to act like he knew everything about her life, “You think I _wanted_ to quit? You act like I had a choice in the matter.”

“Catra, no one’s saying you gave up,” Adora tightened her grip on Catra’s forearm as if to ground her, “Bow just thinks it’s unfair that you were forced to give up something you loved.”

 _How ironic. As if he’s not the reason I have to give up something I love right now._ “Well it was fucking unfair. But that’s in the past now. I have better things to focus on anyways.” _Like my unrequited crush for my best friend._

“Yeah, all that matters is you’re happy now,” Glimmer added brightly, obviously trying to lift the mood. Catra did feel a little bad about ruining brunch. A little.

“Yep, all smiles over here,” Catra smiled, hoping Bow and Glimmer didn’t know her mannerisms well enough to know she was being sarcastic.

“Catra--” Adora started, obviously picking up on the sarcasm.

“--So, field hockey? How’s the team?” Catra interrupted her. There was no way she was unpacking why she wasn’t happy at brunch in front of Adora’s new friends.

Bow lit up instantly, “Oh, our team is amazing! Our captain, Sea Hawk, is basically the best player ever. I’m sure you’ve heard of him, he’s kind of a big deal.”

“Nope, never heard of him,” Catra shook her head. She was so busy with the STEM majors and her seemingly constant stream of tests that she had only been able to attend one sporting event, which was Adora’s first field hockey game at the beginning of last year. Catra tried to not think of it too often because Adora’s focused gameplay expression made her feel warm in the area beneath her stomach.

“He’s Mermista’s boyfriend,” Adora offered, as if that cleared everything up. Catra had heard the name Mermista before, but she didn’t really know anything about her other than the fact she was also on Adora’s team.

Catra nodded as if she knew what was going on, “Oh okay, that guy. I didn’t know he played.”

“He’s actually the reason the men’s and women’s teams practice together occasionally,” Glimmer said, “Which has been super helpful for us. Some of the drills the men do are absolutely brutal.”

Adora laughed, “Oh yeah. I swear I wasn’t able to walk normally for days after our last joint practice.”

Bow, Glimmer, and Adora soon launched into a full blown discussion of their last practice, using drill names and field hockey terms Catra didn’t understand and didn’t really care to. This seemed more like what Catra was expecting; she would sit there awkwardly as Adora enjoyed time with her best friends. She mentally kicked herself for coming. At least this interaction reminded her that she was being replaced, and that it would be best for her to find a replacement for Adora, too.

For her part, Adora did try to include her in the conversation, often asking Catra her opinion or mentioning an old childhood memory. Catra did her best to respond quickly without shutting her down. She didn’t want to distract from Adora’s time with her friends because the other girl felt some weird sense of obligation to introduce the two halves of her life. 

The longer Catra saw Adora interacting with Bow and Glimmer, the clearer it became that Adora wasn’t going to have room for both them and Catra in her life. Bow and Glimmer had the kind of friendship that involved doing everything together, from grocery store runs to supplemental gym visits. Adora was going to have to choose, and the endless stream of inside jokes coming from the other side of the table showed Catra what her choice would be. She couldn’t blame her friend for it, but the realization made her want to curl up in a ball and cry for the first time in years. Because this time, it wasn’t her pulling away, it was Adora.

\---

Ironically, Catra was back at Mystacore Brewery the next week for a date. She didn’t have high hopes, but this girl was cute enough. At least, she looked cute on her profile. Catra hated online dating.

Catra scanned the room, looking for a familiar face. She spotted her date, sitting in the corner on her phone lazily.

“Kylie?” Catra asked as the other girl looked up.

“Oh hey, Catra right?” The other girl greeted with a polite smile, “I hope you don’t mind, but I already got something. My last class got out early, so I’ve been here for a while.”

Well that seemed a bit rude. Why didn’t she just wait until Catra was here so they could order together? Now Catra had to go up to the counter on her own like an idiot and just leave her date sitting at the table?

“Oh, I guess I’ll just go and order then,” Catra said, trying to not sound annoyed. The other girl nodded before turning back to her phone. As promised, Catra marched over to the line. She hesitated as she realized she didn’t actually know what she got here; last time, Adora had just ordered for her. 

“Catra?” A familiar voice came from beside her. Speak of the devil.

“Oh, hey Adora. What’s up?” Catra turned to find her friend staring at her blankly.

“Mermista and I are working on a project together,” Adora said, motioning towards a table. The bored-looking woman there seemed familiar. Catra had definitely met her once before.

“Oh, nice,” Catra nodded. The last thing she wanted was a lengthy conversation with Adora in the middle of her date. Of course, it was kind of her date’s fault she was ordering alone in the first place.

“What are you doing here?” Adora prompted when it became obvious Catra wasn’t going to offer the information on her own.

“I’m on a date,” Catra motioned to the table where Kylie was sitting, “She was early so I’m ordering now.”

There was an awkward silence as Adora went through what looked like the five stages of grief. She had probably just forgotten Catra was actually looking for people to date, unlike Adora who remained stoically focused on other aspects of her life. “Oh, a date! Well, have fun!”

“Wait, Adora,” Catra called as Adora turned around. The other girl turned back to face her, “What did you order for me last time? It was good.”

Adora’s face broke out into a large smile, “Really? I just got you the Cinnamon Cappuccino. Which you never paid me back for, by the way.”

“I bought us the couch. I think that makes us even,” Catra reminded her, not bringing up the fact that it had been Scorpia’s old couch so she didn’t actually pay that much for it.

“You can’t use that every time you owe me money!” Adora protested, lightly punching Catra’s arm. Catra rubbed her arm dramatically to hide the fact that the punch did hurt a little. Adora was too strong for her own good. Catra did _not_ find that fact hot.

“Watch me,” Catra stuck her tongue out before stepping up to the counter and ordering. By the time she was done, Adora had made her way back to the table with Mermista. Catra wished Adora had stayed by her side, but then she remembered she was on a date. Sure, it wasn’t off to a great start, but Catra couldn’t just let the girl she was trying to get over crash it.

After what felt like an extremely long time to make a cappuccino, Catra made her way back over to Kylie, who hadn’t moved.

Catra sat down and they began making boring small talk. Catra could tell she didn’t like this woman already; she was too much of a pushover and seemed too absent-minded. Like she had no opinions whatsoever.

During a lull in conversation, Catra looked around the shop awkwardly. Completely by accident, she glanced over to Adora’s table to find Adora looking over at her. She was too far away for Catra to get a full read on her facial expression, but she almost looked uncomfortable. Which made no sense unless Mermista had just said something, but the other girl seemed distracted by something on her computer’s screen. Noticing Catra had seen her looking, Adora looked away quickly. Catra filed her friend’s strange reaction away, vowing to get to the bottom of it.

After what seemed like an eternity, the date drew to a close. Catra bid her goodbye, not even bothering to offer the other girl to come back to her room. There was obviously no chemistry between them, and Catra was tired of forcing relationships in the hopes that it would fix her stupid crush. Deep down, she knew that sooner or later she was going to have to face the truth: that none of these women were Adora. But Catra was a good procrastinator, so she wasn’t going to think about that just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like every fic has that chapter you need to include because it introduces a character or pushes the plot forward or something but you don't actually like all that much and this is that chapter for this fic (ironically, it was also the fourth chapter of the last fic I wrote). The good news is, I think the rest of the chapters are coming along really nicely!
> 
> Kylie is just Kyle genderbent because I didn't want to come up with another character and Lonnie makes a cameo later on so I couldn't use her.
> 
> Thank you guys so much for your comments! I've been super busy so I didn't have time to reply to them, but please know I read every single one of them and they all made me insanely happy :) Y'all are the best readers!


	5. Stargazing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first half of this chapter was originally the beginning of a much shorter, much angstier chapter five but I decided to split it into three 5k chapters instead... oops. This fic is slowly becoming much longer than I planned it; I'm guessing it will be around 15 chapters?

Adora stared at her screen angrily. It had been a few hours, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Catra on that date and how much it annoyed her. She hated seeing Catra smiling at someone else and laughing at someone else’s jokes. It made her unreasonably angry. So she texted Bow and Glimmer for some much-needed support.

[From: Best Friends Squad 💕 ✨ 👑 ]

>>[Glimmer ✨] What do you mean Catra was on a date??

<<I mean, earlier today I saw her at Mystacore with some girl

<<And she said she was on a date

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Catra’s cheating on you?!

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Adora I’m so sorry!!!!

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Are you two going to break up???

>>[Glimmer ✨] I’ll fight her for you

Adora frowned at her phone. What were they talking about? Her and Catra had never had anything near to a romantic relationship.

<<??

<<Catra and I aren’t dating

<<She’s not even the right gender

>>[Glimmer ✨] Wym?

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] You’re straight???

<<Yeah, I’m straight?

<<You thought I wasn’t?

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Well you do kinda look at Catra like she’s the hottest person ever

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] And she kind of looks at you like you’re the sun

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] And you play field hockey...

>>[Glimmer ✨] And you talk about her all the time!!

>>[Glimmer ✨] You know her drink order

>>[Glimmer ✨] You two do everything together!

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] You were literally grabbing her arm the entire brunch

<<Yeah, cuz we’re friends

<<Also Catra is hot. In a totally objective, platonic way

>>[Glimmer ✨] Friends who fuck

<<Nope. Still a virgin.

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] I bet Catra could change that O.O

>>[Glimmer ✨] Wait, if you’re not dating why is Catra going on a date news

<<Because I don’t like watching it

<<It’s gross

>>[Glimmer ✨] Like you’re jealous?

<<No!

<<I just don’t like seeing it

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Why?

<<Idk

<<I just don’t

<<Too in your face

>>[Glimmer ✨] Like PDA?

>>[Glimmer ✨] Weird, Catra doesn't seem like the type

Adora sighed. How could she explain to her friends that she didn’t like seeing Catra with women without letting it slip that she might be homophobic? Both of her friends were bisexual, so they would definitely take issue with that. And it’s not like she _wanted_ to be homophobic. She just hated seeing Catra with women.

<<No not PDA

<<It’s just like she has time to date and I don’t

<<And I don’t want to see someone hurt her like Octavia did

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] No offense but Catra didn’t seem too upset when we met her

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] I’m sure she can take care of herself

<<But she makes bad decisions when it comes to people to date!!

<<The girls she brings back are weird :/

>>[Glimmer ✨] Weird how?

<<Just weird

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Being awkward after a hookup isn’t weird…

>>[Glimmer ✨] Like you’d know Bow

Adora snickered at her phone. Bow and Glimmer acted like they were experts at online dating and sex and stuff, but as far as Adora could tell they only had experience with each other. And they were childhood friends, so they didn’t even have to go through the awkward getting to know someone phase. Kind of like her and Catra, now that she thought of it. No wonder they assumed they were dating.

<<Ooh burn

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Hey, I have roommates too

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] And my point still stands

<<Idk I just don’t like them

<<It’s not that deep, I just think Catra shouldn’t be wasting her time on them

>>[Glimmer ✨] You’re sure you’re not jealous??

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] ^^ sounds like jealousy to me

<<No I’m not jealous

<<Just concerned for my friend and her choice in partners

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Maybe you should talk to her abt it…?

<<No that would be so awkward

<<”Hey Catra, just wanted to let you know I don’t like the people you date. You’re too good for them so you should stop.”

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] The key to friendship is open communication (◠‿◠✿)

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Or any relationship ;)

<<Again, I’m straight

>>[Glimmer ✨] Yeah, that’s what I thought until hs

>>[Glimmer ✨] You could be bi

Adora frowned at her phone. How could she be bi when the only people she had ever been attracted to were male celebrities? Sure, she had thought about what it would be like to kiss girls--she had even thought about kissing Catra on more than one occasion--but that was just curiosity. Everyone thought about kissing their friends at some point.

<<I don’t have a crush on Catra lol

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Okay

>>[Glimmer ✨] If you say so

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] You should still talk to her tho

<<FINE

<<After midterms

<<She’s rly stressed rn

>>[Glimmer ✨] Don’t remind me

>>[Glimmer ✨] I have to finish Beloved tonight :’(

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Yeah I have a test on Monday…

<<No don’t leave!!

<<Then I’ll have to stop procrastinating

<<And its Friday Bow surely you don’t have to study now

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] I’m sorry Adora but I have to do what’s best for me

>>[Glimmer ✨] Quit being a baby and finish your presentation

<<I hate u

>>[Glimmer ✨] 💖 💖 💖

Adora rolled her eyes as she set her phone aside and directed her attention back to her computer. Which was staring back at her with a blank powerpoint. She was supposed to make a presentation about supply and demand, but she just couldn’t get into it.

She sighed as she began pulling up the sources her professor gave her. They were all dense articles that had little in the way of diagrams or headings. Adora’s eyes glazed over as she tried to understand what the first article was even talking about.

“Hey, Adora,” A lazy voice came from behind her as an arm draped around her shoulders. Adora blushed slightly as she felt the warmth of Catra’s body pressed to her side. Because Adora was sitting on a barstool, they were about the same height, which allowed Catra to comfortably rest her head on Adora’s shoulder.

“Oh, hi Catra,” Adora greeted, trying to keep her voice level. She wasn’t sure why the proximity with Catra was having such an effect on her, but her heartbeat was getting faster and she felt something akin to nervousness yet closer to excitement.

“Watcha working on?” Catra drawled, seemingly unconcerned with how _close_ she was. Which was very on brand for Catra, who was always tactile.

Adora groaned, “My economics presentation.”

“Hmm,” Catra considered the screen for a few moments, “It looks boring.”

“That’s because it is.”

“Why do you put up with this shit when you so obviously hate it?” Catra asked her as she shifted some of her weight onto Adora.

“My parents want me to do it. They think I’ll be able to get better jobs with a business major,” Adora explained, choosing to ignore the fact that Catra was literally draping herself over her at this point. It actually felt kind of nice. Maybe she was just touch starved, and that’s why she was reacting so strangely.

“Screw that,” Adora couldn’t see Catra’s face but she knew the other girl was wrinkling her nose in disgust, “Is this your parent’s life?”

“Um… No?”

“Then why are you doing what _they_ want? You should do what makes you happy!”

Adora sighed, “But making them happy makes me happy. They’ve put so much work into making sure I got this far and I don’t want to let them down. I owe them that much”

“No, Adora. _You_ put in the work. They just sat back and told you to work harder. If you owe anyone for your success, it’s yourself,” Catra insisted passionately.

“But I don’t want to disappoint them,” Adora protested. Her parents had done so much for her, from getting her tutors to paying for private field hockey coaching to micro managing the rest of her life so she didn’t waste her time on things that weren’t important. She had to be successful for them, to prove that their investment had been worth it.

“You didn’t ask them to do that for you, they decided to do all that themselves. You don’t owe them anything. I’m serious, it’s okay to be selfish every once in a while. What do you want, Adora?”

Adora paused for a few moments. Catra was right. It’s not like she had ever asked her parents to plan her school schedule or make meal plans for her or call her teachers whenever she was falling behind. They did that with the assumption that she would do whatever they wanted her to do in return. But Adora had never actually agreed to do anything.

“I don’t know what I want,” Adora finally admitted, staring blankly at her screen without seeing it.

Catra sighed theatrically, “What’s your favorite class right now?”

“Spanish. But that’s probably because it’s my only elective again. I’d prefer anything to these business classes.”

“Yeah, but you’ve always liked Spanish. Remember in high school when you would pressure me into practicing with you so we could speak to each other without anyone else understanding? Except for everyone else was taking Spanish too so they all knew what we were saying,” Catra reminisced with a laugh.

Adora had liked practicing Spanish in high school, but it was mostly because it meant she could spend more time talking to Catra. Her parents were more likely to let her spend time with Catra when it was under the guise of studying for Spanish. Although, she did genuinely enjoy being able to speak or understand Spanish when the need arose.

“Yeah, but thanks to my enthusiasm now we’re both fluent in Spanish. And we’re Spanish minors,” Adora pointed out.

“Have you ever thought of picking up another language?” Catra asked, shifting ever so slightly so her voice came closer to Adora’s ear.

Adora swallowed before responding, “No, not really, why?”

“Well it’s just that you picked up Spanish pretty easily. You learned it at about the same pace as I did, and I used to be fluent as a kid. I bet you could pick up a third pretty easily, especially if it was like French or Italian or something,” Catra reasoned. Adora wondered if she was as flustered at the contact as she was.

“I guess that makes sense. But that’s not really a major.”

Catra removed her arm from Adora’s shoulders to cross them against her chest, “Hey, I’m not saying it was. I’m just pointing out you have a knack for languages. Don’t we have fancy advisors to help us figure out what to do with our skills?”

Catra was right. One of the perks of BMU was its comprehensive advising services. Adora could probably find someone to give her advice. She closed the tabs about her stupic econ project to figure out how to schedule an appointment. If she changed her major, this class wouldn’t matter anyways.

\---

“Why? Why do I have to include _five_ sources in this stupid essay?” Adora asked her ceiling in exasperation. It had been three days since she decided to change her major (and since the Catra on a date incident) and she was just now realizing that she should probably at least try in her classes so she could get some credit. That combined with the looming due dates for all of her midterms were stressing her out more than she cared to admit. She really wanted to punch something, but Catra would definitely not appreciate her putting holes in the walls.

As if sensing Adora’s thoughts, Catra knocked on Adora’s door before yelling in, “Adora, I know your classes suck ass but could you lament your life’s decisions a little quieter? I need to focus.”

“Last I checked you _liked_ background noise when you studied,” Adora pointed out as she opened the door. There was Catra, with her hair in a messy bun threatening to collapse at any moment, holding a cup of coffee and not even trying to hide the bags under her eyes. Adora wasn’t sure what was more impressive: the fact that Catra was very clearly in the middle of pulling two all-nighters in a row or the fact that she somehow managed to pull off the look.

“Not right now,” Catra gritted out, glaring at Adora as if she was the source of all her problems, “I have two lab reports due tomorrow and I haven’t started them yet because I had a test today _and_ I have another one on Wednesday and I can’t fucking focus. Please just do me a favor and minimize the background noise.”

“Trouble focusing?” Adora parroted. That had never been an issue for Catra before. If anything, her friend had a tendency to focus too much on one thing, causing her to forget about everything else. She looked Catra over and noticed that the other girl not only looked exhausted, but also looked tense. Her posture was rigid and her jaw was clenched.

“Yeah that’s what I said. Turns out I’m not above attention spans. It’s very inconvenient.”

Suddenly, Adora was hit with a brilliant idea, “Okay, so if you’re having trouble focusing, why don’t you take a break? We could do something together?”

Catra looked at her like she was an idiot. “Are you stupid? Were you listening to me at all? I have to write those lab reports for my shitty TA who grades super harshly and then I have to study for my test on Wednesday and I don’t have _time_ for a break.”

“I’m not stupid and I was listening to you,” Adora insisted, a little offended that Catra was lashing out at her when she was just trying to help, “But do you really think you can do anything productive right now? You said it yourself: you can’t focus. Why don’t you take a break and then come back to it when you’re less miserable?”

Catra sighed and looked at the clock in Adora’s room. It was eight o’clock. Which was honestly much earlier than Adora thought it was. Time really drags when you’re writing an essay.

“Fine. What do you have in mind?” Catra asked.

Oh crap, now Adora needed a plan. She wasn’t actually expecting Catra to take her up on her offer. But she had to think of something! A lack of plan would only make Catra more stressed right now.

“Oh, well I have a lot of ideas. Which are all very good and relaxing. In fact, I’ve done a bunch of things to help me regain my focus in the past. It’s hard to choose just one,” Adora waffled, frantically searching her mind for something that her friend would both enjoy doing and be willing to invest time in given their time constraints.

“You don’t have a plan, do you?” Catra groaned, looking up at their ceiling.

“No, of course I have a plan!” Adora protested, “We should go hiking.”

Catra leaned on Adora’s doorframe and arched an eyebrow, “Hiking?”

“Yes, hiking.” Adora squared her shoulders proudly. She had come up with a plan!

“Adora, it’s eight pm. It’s dark out,” Catra pointed out, looking at her in amusement. Of course, the one idea Adora had managed to come up with and they couldn’t even do it right now. At least her friend was entertained by this. She was cute when she was pointing out flaws in other people’s plans.

“Um, yeah. You’ve never heard of night hiking?” Adora asked, trying to keep the confidence in her voice. She had made her bad plan and she was sticking with it.

“I can’t say that I have.”

“Well it’s the new thing! We just need some flashlights and then we can go.”

“Do you have flashlights? I don’t.”

“I think I might have one? Let me check.” Her dad had definitely brought a flashlight with him when he helped her move in, and she was pretty sure he left it for her just in case there was ever a power outage. Adora began the process of going through the cabinets in her room, frantically trying to remember where it could be.

Catra yelled out helpful suggestions from the sidelines, not budging from her spot in the doorframe. Adora caught herself occasionally glancing over at her friend, admiring the lines of her silhouette. Her best friend had always been leaner than Adora, all compact muscle and elegant limbs. Adora was taller than her friend, but Catra always held herself as if she was the tallest person in the room, somehow both proud and nonchalant. Even now, leaning in Adora’s doorway she managed to look like she owned the place.

Finally, Adora reached into the bottom drawer of her dresser and pulled out a small flashlight. She held it up to Catra in victory.

“Here it is! Now we have everything we need for our night hike,” Adora proclaimed, beaming up at the flashlight.

Catra looked unimpressed, “ _That’s_ the flashlight? Does it even work?”

Adora clicked the back of the flashlight experimentally, and much to her delight the flashlight turned on.

“Any other issues with my plan?” Adora asked smugly.

Catra sighed, “I suppose not. I assume you have a trail picked out?”

“Yeah, I was thinking we could go to Mara’s point. It’s close and a pretty easy hike.” It was also the only trail Adora had hiked in her time in Bright Moon. She spent most of her time exercising, so hiking wasn’t really on the top of her list of things to do.

“Sounds good,” Catra shrugged before standing up, “I’m going to go change into something else. Meet you by the door in five?”

Adora nodded as Catra walked away. As promised, they met at their front door five minutes later, both dressed in workout clothes.

“You ready?” She asked, looking at Catra. Who looked unenthusiastic but not shut down. Adora could work with that.

Catra nodded, “Let’s get this over with.”

One of the nice things about Mara’s point was how close it was to a subway stop. It only took about twenty minutes for the pair to reach the beginning of the trail, Adora with flashlight in hand and Catra with a water bottle.

“Well, this trail’s not going to hike itself,” Catra announced as she walked past the gate and into the forest. Adora turned on her flashlight and followed behind her, noting how nice her friend looked in those leggings. It was obvious Adora wasn’t the only one in their apartment who worked out, even if Catra was leaner.

“It’s so weird. It feels like we’re not supposed to be here,” Adora admitted when she finally caught up to Catra. There was no one else on the trail and it was eerily quiet, as if the forest was waiting for something to happen.

“Probably because we’re not,” Catra said matter-of-factly, “This trail closes at sunset.”

Adora stopped walking. They were _trespassing_ right now? “Catra! Why didn’t you say anything!”

Catra laughed at Adora’s obvious concern, “Relax, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s not like anyone’s going to catch us or anything. And besides, this was _your_ idea, so I just assumed you knew.”

Adora shook her head before continuing on down the trail. She had to admit it was a little exciting to be doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing. She had been a bit of a teacher’s pet in high school, eager to please and determined to prove her worth. Even in college, the worst thing she had done was drink at team parties. Catra had always been a bit more rebellious, from talking back to teachers to getting her cartilage pierced without her parents permission using a fake ID. The idea of doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing with her friend gave her a slight adrenaline rush.

There was a silence for a while as Adora thought of something to talk about. Despite rooming together, the only times they had actually officially done something together were when they went to the aquarium and when Adora invited Catra to go get coffee with her friends. Which was mostly Adora’s fault. Catra had invited her to her friend’s movie nights and parties but Adora had always turned her down. Mostly because she was busy, but partially because she didn’t want to see Catra’s new life. If the girls she had over was any inclination, she knew that the other girl was pulling away and finding other people to spend her time with. Which was fine, Adora just needed some time to adjust. And that meant some time apart.

As she ran through potential conversation topics, she regretted pulling away. She used to know what to say when she was around Catra. She knew what events were coming up in her life that she was excited about or what new show she was watching. But now she was at a complete loss. Did she still watch nature documentaries in her free time? Did she go to parties on Saturday nights? Did she have a gym buddy?

Finally unable to bear the silence anymore, Adora asked the first thing that came to mind: “So how did your date go?” _Great one, Adora. That’s the last thing you want to talk about._

“What?” Catra asked, obviously taken aback by the question.

“You know, your date on Friday? How did it go?” She might as well commit to this conversation now, even though she would rather fall down the hill they were hiking up then listen to Catra talk about dating.

“Honestly? Pretty lame,” Catra shrugged, “Not worth the time.”

“Really? She looked pretty to me,” Adora recalled. From what she could remember, the girl was cute, in a small, fragile kind of way. She looked a little like Catra could eat her alive, but maybe Catra was into that. Catra did seem to like being in control.

“Well looks aren’t everything,” Catra mused, “And her personality sucks. She told me that her Hogwarts house was Gryffindor and when I called her basic she got super upset and switched to Huffelpuff. You can’t say you’re a Gryffndor and then back down from a challenge! Who even does that?”

Oh, so Catra was going to rant to her then. At least she was talking about the bad parts of the date. Adora could handle hearing about that. “I don’t know. She obviously doesn’t understand Hogwarts houses.”

“Right?! And like when I first got there, she had already ordered! I know it’s not the end of the world or anything but would it have killed her to wait? And then she told me she didn’t drink or go to parties, which is fine, but when I mentioned going to parties she acted like she wanted to go,” Catra continued.

“Weird,” Adora nodded, just letting Catra have her rant. There was no use trying to stop her now that she’s started.

“She literally had no opinions at all. I couldn’t disagree with her about anything because she would be all like ‘Oh, you know what? You’re right, I’ve never thought about it like that.’ Ugh! All I wanted was one opinion! Was that seriously too much to ask?”

Adora shrugged, “But at least you would never fight, right?”

“But sometimes you have to fight. Otherwise it would be like dating a mirror. And how are you supposed to know what they like if they just go with whatever you want?” Catra rolled her eyes.

“What they like?” Adora echoed, not quite sure what Catra was talking about.

“You know, in bed,” Catra elaborated casually.

“Yes, Catra. I know all about what it’s like to have sex with someone who won’t tell me what they like in bed,” Adora did her best to deadpan. She was learning the art of sarcasm from Mermista, although the other girl had told her she had a long way to go.

“Adora! Was that sarcasm?” Catra said in a scandalized tone as she raised her eyebrows, “I guess your new friends are good for something. Although I’m a little offended you never bothered to learn it from me.”

“Sorry. For what it’s worth, you did teach me how to _identify_ sarcasm,” Adora admitted. Catra had always been a sarcastic kid, and in the beginning it was hard for her to tell when Catra was being serious or being sarcastic. She got the hang of it, though. It was actually a big source of pride for her, especially when other people weren't able to identify Catra’s sarcasm.

“Obviously not well enough,” Catra scoffed, “You don’t need to apologize for learning how to be sarcastic, Adora. It kinda goes against the point of sarcasm.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Adora looked at her friend, who had her eyes on the small section of trail illuminated by Adora’s flashlight. It wasn’t that big of a deal that she wasn’t able to tell Catra wasn’t actually offended, but it was a sign that they had grown further apart than Adora had previously realized. She needed to fix this, or risk losing her best friend for good.

They hiked in silence for a few more minutes, this silence more comfortable than the last. Adora stumbled on the uneven ground a few times, causing Catra to grab her hand, “so you don’t fall down this hill, you klutz.” Catra’s hand was warm in her own, and Adora absently wondered if Catra could feel how cold Adora’s hands were.

After some more hiking, they made their way to Mara’s point. The trees thinned and there was a small clearing with a view of the city underneath them. But Adora was more interested in the stars. She had always lived in populated areas so the only times she was really able to see the stars was when her family went on camping trips.

“Catra! Look!” Adora pointed to the sky, where more stars than she could count shone through the deep blue. If she tried, she was sure she could even see constellations!

Beside her, Catra looked up at the sky. Adora watched as her friend’s jaw dropped in awe. It occurred to Adora that Catra may have never seen the night sky outside of a city. Her parents never allowed her to go camping with Adora’s family, and the only vacations Catra took were to her grandparent’s house, which were in some rich, densely populated suburbs.

“Have you ever seen stars before?” Adora asked, amused.

“Yes! Of course I’ve seen _stars_ before! I don’t live under a rock, Adora,” Catra said, clearly defensive.

“Okay, I know you’ve seen stars. But have you seen them like this?” Adora tried again.

“No, not really. My parents weren’t big on the whole ‘nature’ thing,” Catra sighed, still looking at the stars.

“Well, let’s lie down and look at them,” Adora suggested.

“You want me to lie down? On the dirt? No thanks,” Catra shook her head, giving the ground a reproachful glare.

Adora pointed to a picnic table that was off to the side of the clearing, “I bet we could fit on that.”

Catra gave her a look, as if gauging if she was serious or not. Finally deciding that Adora was in fact serious, she nodded. “Fine. But if I get a splinter I’ll kill you..”

With that, the pair climbed up on the table and did their best to arrange themselves on the hard surface. It wasn’t comfortable by any stretch of the imagination, and the two had to practically be on top of each other to fit. Catra’s body heat pressed against her felt nice in the cool night air.

“Here, I have an app that will show us where the constellations are,” Adora remembered, pulling out her phone, “Let’s see what we can find.”

“Dork,” Catra said beside her, but she angled her body into Adora’s so she could see her screen too.

Adora pulled up her phone and began looking at the constellations. Each constellation, once highlighted in her camera, came with a description. She began reading the descriptions to Catra, who occasionally made an interested noise to let Adora know she was still listening. That is, until Adora got to Orion and instead of Catra’s hums and nods, she heard even, deep breathing. The other girl must have dozed off as Adora was talking.

 _She must really be tired,_ Adora noted. She decided that she should probably let her friend sleep. From what she had heard about Catra’s schedule this week, this was probably the only sleep she would get all day. Her friend deserved a break. She always worked so hard and devoted all of herself to her work, never stopping to take a breath or appreciate how far she’d come. As if she had something to prove.

Adora continued looking at the constellations on her phone, reading the descriptions to herself. Some of them were interesting, while others were just plain weird. After she had gone through all of the constellations in sight, she went through her instagram feed and sent some snapchats of Catra cuddling with her to Bow and Glimmer. Which really didn’t help her “we’re not dating” case, but the moment was too cute for her not to share. And friends can cuddle.

Finally, Adora decided that lying on the hard wood table for any longer would probably give them permanent back damage, so she gently shook Catra awake. The other girl groaned into her shoulder before shifting closer, trying to bury herself in Adora as if she were a pillow. Adora felt her heart swell with fondness as she remembered all of the sleepovers they would have as kids, and how they would inevitably start cuddling in the middle of the night. There was a certain comfort in having someone in your bed with you.

“Catra, you need to get up. It’s late,” Adora whispered trying to ease her friend out of sleep as kindly as possible.

“What time is it?” Catra mumbled, her voice muffled by Adora’s shoulder.

Adora glanced at her phone, “It’s like 10:30.”

Catra bolted up into a seated position, “Shit, how long was I out?”

“Like an hour?”

“An hour? Why didn’t you wake me up!” Catra demanded, looking at Adora with shock.

Adora shrugged, “You seemed like you needed the sleep.”

“What I need is to study for my test. We should get back.”

“Okay then, let’s go,” Adora stood up as Catra ran her fingers through her messy hair. Adora wondered if Catra’s hair was still as soft as it was in high school. They used to braid each other’s hair all the time, but now Catra tended to wear her hair down.

Catra finally stood up, stretching for a few moments before following Adora back down the trail. On their way back, they struck up a conversation about how annoying their professors were. Turns out Catra had a professor move the date of their midterm up with no warning, which was why she was so stressed.

Once back in their apartment, Catra shut herself back in her room, leaving Adora to stare at her essay, which was three paragraphs too short. She spent a few minutes trying to think of more points to add, but she was too distracted by the memory of Catra’s body pressed up against her own on that table. She finally decided to just go to bed; she could write her essay tomorrow. 

She dreamed of lying with Catra on her bed, of pulling her into a tight embrace and never letting go. It was warm and soft and comfortable in a way Adora had never felt before. She really missed her best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adora: What if... Catra and I cuddled for eternity and never stopped touching?  
> Also Adora: I'm straight :)
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and for all of your comments and kudos! I love each and every one of you <3


	6. Baking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I know it's not Saturday, but this chapter isn't as plot heavy as some of the other chapters so I thought I'd just throw it in as a bonus :) I'm going to post again this Saturday and then I'll be back to my normal once a week schedule.

Catra was so stressed. She had a grand total of three hours of sleep last night--and one of those hours was on a picnic table in the middle of a fucking forest because that’s how low she’d stooped--and she still had two lab reports due by 11:59 that night, which meant she had to stop pretending like she knew how to use excel and actually learn how to use it.

She had finally decided to move from her room to the kitchen, hoping the change in scenery would trick her brain into thinking it wasn’t tired and miserable. She had no such luck, but at least here she was closer to the coffee machine.

“Good morning, Catra,” Adora greeted from behind her, walking into the kitchen to grab some food. Catra almost laughed at the implication that morning and night were two distinct events, and not some horrendous, never ending amalgam of organic chemistry.

“Oh, hey,” Catra started, looking up at Adora which caused her voice to falter slightly, “Adora?”

Adora had obviously just come out of the shower, and was only wearing the towel she had wrapped around herself. Which did not cover much. Catra forced herself to look at Adora’s eyes because Adora was her _roommate_ and she wasn’t about to make the other girl uncomfortable by staring at her thighs. No matter how muscular and strong they looked.

“Is something bothering you, Catra?” Adora asked, clueless to Catra’s internal panic. Her cheeks were still rosy from the heat of the shower and her damp hair somehow managed to still look good. Catra always looked like a wet rat when she came out of the shower, so she had no idea how Adora did it.

“Just mad about my lab report,” Catra lied, as if she wasn’t imagining running her hands up the back of Adora’s thighs and gripping her ass. Although to be fair, she did really need to finish these graphs quickly so she had enough time to study for her midterm tomorrow, which meant time was running out.

Adora hummed in acknowledgement as she reached up for a mug on a higher shelf. Her towel lifted to reveal even more skin, and even though Catra couldn’t see anything, she averted her eyes. She was definitely blushing and the last thing she needed was Adora noticing.

Adora proceeded to pour orange juice in her mug before grabbing a granola bar from their cramped pantry.

“Why are you using a mug for orange juice?” Catra asked, procrastinating her lab report.

Adora rolled her eyes, “Mugs aren’t just for coffee. And look, this one has swords on it!”

Catra looked at the mug, which sure enough had a sword pattern on it. Actually, now that she looked at it, it looked a lot like the mug Entrapta gave her for her birthday last year.

“Hey! That’s my mug!” Catra protested.

Adora leaned against the counter and sipped her orange juice out of the stolen mug as if she wasn’t practically naked, “It’s fine, Catra. I promise I’ll wash it.”

Catra did her best not to pout. According to Scorpia she was cute when she pouted, and she did not want to be considered cute by anyone. Not even Adora. She wasn’t cute, she was intimidating.

“So what’s up with the lab report?” Adora asked after a beat of silence. Catra didn’t know why she cared, it’s not like they spent that much time together. In fact, the only times she had actually had a real conversation with Adora this month was at Mystacore with her friends and then last night on their hike. Sure, they had passing conversations and they texted about groceries and stuff, but for the most part Adora was at practice when Catra was home and Catra had class when Adora was home. Even their Sunday routine had been interrupted by new traditions with their respective friends. Catra hated Sunday morning lifting, but Adora was always at Glimmer’s for breakfast and Scorpia _was_ an amazing spotter.

Catra sighed dramatically, “I’m trying to make a plot that compares my data but this stupid program won’t make two lines! And when it does it uses the wrong data for x and y and I can’t figure out how to switch it.”

“Oh, that sounds super frustrating,” Adora said, clearly unsure how to help Catra, “Maybe you could ask someone to help you?”

“Ugh, I guess I could ask ‘Trapta,” Catra sighed and pulled out her phone. She really didn’t want to admit she didn’t know what she was doing, but her impending deadline was giving her few other choices. She really needed these labs turned in so she could spend time studying for her second midterm of the week.

<<Hey, wanna help me with a computer issue?

>>YES

>>IM COMING OVER RIGHT NOW

<<You don’t have to do that, you could just walk me though it over the phone or something

>>Too late I’m already outside

<<You could just go back inside

<<You know what whatever see you soon

“You should probably put some clothes on. Entrapta’s on her way over,” Catra informed her friend.

“Oh, she’s coming right now? That’s really fast,” Adora noted in a voice that was carefully crafted to be casual.

Catra shrugged, “She’s always quick to respond. And she’ll always jump on the chance to help someone with a tech issue.” Entrapta was possibly the best computer science major in the school. She was technically a sophomore, but she spent most of her time in classes with seniors and even had some master’s classes on her schedule for next semester.

“Does she help you out a lot?” Adora asked carefully. Catra wasn’t sure exactly what Adora found strange about this situation, but she was caught up on _something._

“I guess? Like if I need help she’ll help me,” Catra explained, “But I don’t need help often. It’s not like any of the classes I’m taking are super compsci heavy. And I’m kind of a genius”

“Sounds like a good friend,” Adora smiled at her, ignoring Catra’s obvious opening for banter.

Catra was about to ask her why she was acting so weird when she heard a knock at the door.

“Shoot, I need to put on clothes,” Adora nearly swore before ducking into her bedroom. Catra decided to forget about her friend’s stange questioning before opening the door for Entrapta.

“Hey Catra! What do you need help with?” Entrapta asked brightly, her signature purple pigtails bouncing behind her as she rocked on the balls of her feet excitedly.

“It’s really not that exciting. I just need help with graphs on excel,” Catra said as she motioned her friend inside.

“Oooh, graphs! I love those!” Entrapta exclaimed as she followed Catra and sat in the barstool next to her, scooting closer so she could get a better look at Catra’s screen.

Catra walked Entrapta through her problem and what she was trying to do. Entrapta listened attentively, occasionally pointing out places where Catra had formatted her data incorrectly. She was doing her best to teach Catra instead of just doing it herself, which Catra appreciated.

Eventually though, Entrapta’s patience wore thin and she leaned into Catra’s space to start using her keyboard, “It’s so much faster if you do it like this! And why don’t you have sticky keys enabled?”

“I don’t know, because I’m not a nerd?”

Entrapta ignored Catra’s comment in favor of reformatting her entire document. Catra did her best to understand why her friend was making changes, but she was going too fast and Catra gave up. She looked up from the screen, and much to her surprise she locked eyes with Adora, who was eating an apple and staring at the two of them as if she was trying to solve a puzzle.

Obviously caught, although doing what Catra wasn’t sure, Adora quickly became extremely interested in the nutrition facts on Catra’s cereal. Which she didn’t even eat, but Catra decided not to point that out.

“Catra, are you even listening?” Entrapta’s voice cut through Catra’s train of thought. Oh right, she was working on her lab report.

“No, not really. Why, did you say something important?”

“Yes! I was just saying that you need to format your data like _this,_ ” she made a dramatic motion at Catra’s screen and almost hit Catra in the face with her hand, “or you’re going to confuse your program and it won’t graph it right. Then you need to choose the compare line segments option on your graph, which you had turned off for some reason. It’s no wonder you couldn’t get it!”

“Yeah,” Catra agreed, keeping her eyes on Adora. Who was doing her best to look like she wasn’t eavesdropping. How cute.

“So do you need anything else?” Entrapta asked brightly, blissfully unaware that Catra was no longer paying any attention to her.

“Catra!” Entrapta yelled when Catra waited too long to respond.

“What?” Catra snapped.

Entrapta sighed, “More help? Yes or no.”

“No, I’m all set. Thanks, ‘Trapta, you nerd,” Catra turned her attention back to her friend, who was now changing something in Catra’s computer’s settings. Hopefully she didn’t do anything too irreversible.

“Okay then, just let me enable a few things here and you’re all set! Although you should probably get a new laptop, this thing is getting out of date. If you’d like I could recommend--”

“--Thanks, but I’m good,” Catra cut her off.

“Right. I’ll be going then,” Entrapta announced before standing up and walking to the door.

“See you later,” Catra called after her as Entrapta let herself out.

“So,” Adora said casually, leaning awkwardly on their counter across from Catra, “Are you dating Entrapta?”

“What?” Catra squawked indignantly, “What the fuck Adora, where did that come from?”

Adora shrugged, looking surprised, “I don’t know, she practically dropped everything to help you! And you asked her for help. You never do that.”

“Entrapta didn’t ‘drop everything’ to help me, she just loves helping people with tech issues. It’s not like that. She’s not even my type.”

“Oh,” Adora said, sounding surprised, “And what’s your type?”

Catra hesitated. What was her type? Other than tall, athletic, dorky blondes. “I guess I like my women a little more muscular.”

Adora hummed in assent, seemingly filing away that information for later. Or something. Catra wasn't quite sure what Adora’s angle was.

Catra turned her attention back to her lab report, pleased to find that Entrapta had actually done most of the work for her. All that was left was for her to write her conclusion and then she could submit the stupid thing. And then black out for 12 hours or so. She could study for her test tomorrow morning.

After a few minutes of writing some shitty excuse for a conclusion, Catra was ready to be done with this thing. She hit submit with more force than was strictly necessary, eager to just be done with the stupid assignment. Then she stalked to her bedroom, hastily changed into a sleep shirt and fell asleep on her bed.

\---

Catra awoke a few hours later to some mechanical whirring sound. She looked at her clock. 2 pm. She groaned. She had somehow only managed to get three hours of sleep. She was going to kill somebody.

Catra reluctantly got out of bed and walked into the kitchen to see what the noise was. There was Adora, standing at the counter behind a mixer holding a recipe with a concentrated look on her face.

“Don’t think too hard or you might strain yourself,” Catra greeted, annoyed at her roommate for making such a racket. Didn’t she know people were trying to sleep?

“I didn’t know you were up,” Adora said before looking up at Catra. Her face immediately went red and she looked away again quickly, “Catra!”

“What?” Catra shot back before remembering what she was wearing. Adora’s high school field hockey jersey that she stole a few years ago and nothing else. Whoops.

Adora looked back at her, taking great care to only look at Catra’s eyes, “Could you put on some clothes or something?”

“Yeah, just a sec,” Catra shrugged before slinking back to her room. Honestly, she wasn’t sure why Adora was so flustered. The jersey was long enough on her that you couldn’t see her underwear and even if you could, it’s not like they’d never changed in front of each other before. Sure, Catra always looked away because she had some weird holdups regarding her best friend. But Adora, who was free from such messy feelings of attraction, shouldn’t have an issue.

Either way, Catra would rather be clothed in front of her crush so she settled for putting on a pair of spandex that she usually wore to the gym. Adora’s jersey was too comfortable to change out of, so she left that on. Satisfied that she was sufficiently clothed, Catra made her way back out into the kitchen.

“So what exactly are you doing?” Catra asked conversationally.

“Baking!” Adora announced with a smile, “I know you’ve been stressed and I’ve been kind of stressed too, so I thought that some cookies would cheer us both up!”

“You know how to bake?” From what Catra could tell from their two months of living together, Adora did not know her way around a kitchen.

“No,” Adora scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, “But I thought that it couldn’t be that hard, right?”

“So how’s it going?” Catra asked with a smirk. Based on Adora’s mildly panicked “I totally have this under control what are you talking about” expression, something had gone horribly wrong.

“Well,” Adora started, “I think I put too many eggs in?”

“You think?” Catra made her way behind the counter, next to Adora. She peered in the mixer curiously. It did look a little like an eggy mess.

“I don’t know,” Adora groaned, “I kind of lost count? The recipe calls for two but I think I put three.”

Catra directed her gaze over to the egg carton in front of her, which was missing three eggs, “Was this carton full when you started, or was there one missing?”

“I think it was full. Probably. Have you used an egg recently?”

“Nope. So this mess has one egg too many.”

Adora groaned again, louder, as she planted her face in her hands. “So it’s all ruined! I can’t believe I messed up cookies!”

“Woah, okay, let’s calm down. Can’t we just one and a half the recipe?” Catra suggested.

“You can do that?” Adora asked uncertainly.

“No, Adora. The recipe can only be prepared as written and any deviations will result in a total mess,” Catra rolled her eyes.

“Okay, point made,” Adora smiled good-naturedly, “So we need to add more of everything else?”

“Yep,” Catra picked up the recipe, “So instead of one cup of sugar we need to add one and half cups.”

“Sounds doable,” Adora nodded before grabbing the sugar. 

They spent a few minutes going through the recipe and recalculating how much of each ingredient they would need. Or Catra did that while Adora grabbed ingredients from throughout the kitchen.

“Do you mind if I play music?” Adora asked after all of their ingredients were laid out and the new recipe was calculated. They were going to have to wait a few minutes for the extra butter to soften so they had some time to kill.

“Do whatever you want, I don’t care,” Catra shrugged. What she really wanted was to go back to sleep, but now that she started this project with Adora she might as well finish it.

“What do you want to listen to?” Adora asked as she scrolled through her phone. It had been a while since Catra and Adora had listened to music together.

Catra shrugged, “I don’t really care. Just none of that electronic bullshit I know you still work out to.” Catra’s music taste was mainly sad songs or songs about unrequited love or songs about being gay. Or her favorites: sad songs about unrequited gay love. Not exactly what she wanted to listen to while Adora was in the room.

“It’s motivational,” Adora protested before settling on a playlist. Some alternative music from high school. Catra could live with that.

“Didn’t this song play at junior prom?” Catra remembered. She had a very vivid memory of watching Adora dance with some of her teammates to this song. She was wearing a red dress that flowed with her body and the carefree smile on her face was absolutely breathtaking. There was nothing Catra could do but watch, too afraid to join in.

Adora listened to the song for a few seconds before brightening, “Oh yeah, I think it did! It was one of the only songs I actually knew.”

“Yeah, they always played trash at those dances,” Catra laughed in agreement.

“They were still fun though,” Adora said with a nostalgic look on her face. Adora had always been a people person, so she loved the social aspect of dances, from the picture taking beforehand to the sleepovers afterwards. Catra herself had been dragged to a few team sleepovers after dances, which she spent quietly curled up by Adora’s side as the other girl socialized.

“Yeah, they were,” Catra agreed. For Catra, the best part of dances was getting ready. Catra didn’t care about hair or makeup or her outward appearance all that much, but she remembered all those times at the mall, picking out dresses that she thought would look good on Adora. And she was always right. Adora would come out of the dressing room, wearing one dress after another that made her look absolutely gorgeous. All Catra could do was sit there, smiling in encouragement and suppressing the urge to kiss her best friend.

And then there was the preparations on the day of. Adora and Catra always got ready together, just the two of them. Adora would do Catra’s makeup and in exchange Catra would do Adora’s hair. Catra would sit on the bed, eyes closed as Adora’s face hovered inches from her own. She would always smile at Catra softly when she had finished and tell her she looked beautiful. Then Catra would run her fingers through Adora’s hair, braiding it and pinning it up. Her friend would always smile and pat at her hair gently when she was done, as if Catra had just created art. Catra would never admit it, but she learned how to braid just for Adora.

“Do you think the butter’s ready?” Adora asked, obviously unaware of Catra’s trip down memory lane.

Catra gave the butter a poke. It felt soft enough. “Yeah, I think we’re good. Let’s fix this thing.”

Catra and Adora spent the better part of their afternoon working on the cookies, listening to music from high school. Whenever a particularly nostalgic song came on, they would talk about their shared memories, from Adora’s first field hockey game to that week Catra had four AP tests in three days to that time Catra encouraged Adora to sneak off campus to get pizza with her.

“Oh my god, remember that time we had a sleepover and marathoned like an entire season of Avatar?” Adora laughed as she started rolling out the cookie dough.

“Yeah, remember that time you had an embarrassing crush on Zuko? Oh wait, that was the same night,” Catra joked back.

“I did _not_ have a crush on Zuko. I just think that self improvement is an admirable goal,” Adora argued back.

“That’s exactly what someone who has a crush on Zuko would say.”

“Okay, whatever. Are you going to help me with those cookies or not?”

“Sure. Do you have a Zuko cookie cutter?”

“No, but I have a Momo cookie cutter.” Adora held up a lemur-shaped cookie cutter triumphantly.

“Of course you do,” Catra looked at her small pile of cookie cutters, unsurprised, “What else do you have?”

“Well, I have some animal cookie cutters. Oh, I have a cat! And I have some hearts and stars. And I think this one’s supposed to be a sword? I don’t really know, my mom sent these to me last week.”

“Hmmm” Catra considered the shapes in front of her, “I think I’ll take the hearts. Because I’m such a loving and open person.”

Adora laughed. It was a wonderful sound. “Well in that case I’ll take the sword. Because I’m closed off and combative.”

“Couldn’t have described you better myself,” Catra smiled at her friend before getting to work cutting out little cookie hearts. There was silence as both girls got to work on cutting out the shapes in the dough.

“We should do this more often,” Adora finally broke the silence.

“Make cookies?” Catra played dumb. She knew what Adora was talking about, but she was scared to talk about it. If they talked about it, that meant they would have to acknowledge that things were different now. That they were both pulling away. And Catra didn’t want to do that.

“No, just like hang out,” Adora continued, looking up from the cookie sheet she was arranging, “You know, spend time together, like we did in high school.”

“We spend time together all the time, dummy. We live together.”

“Catra,” Adora sighed, “You know what I meant. I’m hosting a game night this Friday with Glimmer and Bow, would you like to come?”

Catra took a deep breath. Scorpia always told her friendship was a two way street. “Sure, I’ll go. Just warn them that they’re going to get their asses kicked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catra spends her free time locking herself in her room and listening to "She" by Dodie and crying like the gay disaster she is, sorry I don't make the rules.
> 
> Also did anyone else have way more "crushes" on animated male characters than live action actors growing up because they were still men so it was still straight (and therefore okay in your mind) but they had less masculine vibes then actual men? Or am I just weird? Anyways sorry Zuko but Azula has my whole heart now.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading :)


	7. Game Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay quick note before this chapter: Adora describes Bow and Glimmer as being in a straight relationship, and I just wanted to say that a relationship can't be straight if there's a bisexual person in it! I'm not trying to erase their bisexuality or anything, it's just how Adora's processing her emotions/justifying her feelings regarding Catra.

Adora awoke on Friday excited to meet with her counselor. Maybe she would finally be able to get out of these miserable business classes and so something that didn’t make her want to pull her hair out.

So she was completely blindsided when she walked into the kitchen to find Catra and some girl kissing. They were standing behind the island, bodies flush against each other. Catra’s fingers were running through her hair and the other woman had her arms looped around Catra’s waist. Some unidentifiable emotion boiled deep in her gut as she stood frozen in the kitchen doorway, unsure how to react.

Neither of the girls seemed to notice Adora’s presence, so they continued sucking each other’s faces. Adora almost wanted to gag, but something about seeing _Catra_ doing it made her curious. If her friend enjoyed doing it, maybe it actually did feel good.

Then again, Catra needed better judgement. Ever since she stopped seeing Octavia, there had been a seemingly never ending stream of girls. None of them lasted more than two nights, and Adora never bothered to learn their names. Catra never talked about them anyways. Her friend deserved better than some woman who would use her for sex before leaving her. Why was she wasting her time on these women who clearly didn’t appreciate her?

Finally deciding enough was enough, Adora cleared her throat pointedly. The couple broke apart quickly, but Catra remained in the other woman’s arms. Adora didn’t like how friendly they were getting. Couldn’t Catra see these relationships weren’t good for her?

“Oh, hey Adora. Sorry, I didn’t know you were up,” Catra apologized, but her tone told Adora she wasn’t really sorry. That and the fact that she pressed a kiss to the random girl’s cheek before breaking their embrace. Adora glared at them as another surge of that weird emotion overtook her.

“Should I go?” The other woman asked awkwardly, staring at Adora like a deer caught in headlights. God, the woman Catra picked out didn’t even have people skills!

“Nah, you should stick around for breakfast,” Catra offered, smiling at her brightly. Too brightly. There was no way Catra _actually_ liked that woman enough to legitimately smile at her. Those kinds of smiles were reserved for her. 

Catra sauntered over to the island, her hips swaying more than usual. While Catra didn’t act like this often, the other girl was aware of how she looked and knew how to use it to her advantage. Like now, as she perched herself on the island and leaned back. Adora’s eyes scanned Catra’s lithe body, unable to stop herself. She wasn’t checking her out or anything, she was just envious of Catra’s body type. She hoped Catra hadn’t noticed, but based on the way the other woman was now smirking at her, she had.

Oblivious to their strange interaction, the other woman shrugged and sat down in the barstool closest to Catra, reaching for the box of cereal Catra must have put out before they... got distracted. Adora grabbed some yogurt from the fridge before reluctantly sitting down at the barstool on the other side. She debated eating breakfast in her room, but she decided it would be even more awkward if she left now. 

Catra cheerfully struck up a conversation with the intruder, so obviously flirting. She laughed too often and with too much enthusiasm, as if her conversation partner was the funniest person in the world. Which she was not. In fact, there wasn’t a single thing that woman said that Adora found even remotely funny.

However, the other girl didn’t seem to notice how fake Catra was being and was clearly charmed. Or, she was being equally as fake and Adora didn’t know her well enough to notice. Adora glared at them as they continued their conversation, willing the other woman to leave. Catra deserved to be with someone she could be herself around.

Adora ate as quickly as possible so she could retreat back to her room. Catra raised an eyebrow as she stood up to leave, but made no move to encourage her to stay.

Adora stayed in her room for a while, watching a show Bow had recommended to her to pass the time. She didn’t have anything to do until after lunch. Her first class was in the afternoon, and her counselor’s appointment was after that. Her coach had even given the team a rare day off to help them destress after their hectic week of midterms.

After a few episodes, Adora faintly heard a door closing, Then, she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall before stopping in front of her room.

“She’s gone, You can come out now,” Catra’s voice came from the other side, tone light and teasing.

Adora sighed and got up to open her door, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Taking the open door as an invitation to enter, Catra slipped into Adora’s room and sat in the chair Adora was just sitting in, “I’m talking about how you glared at her and practically inhaled your breakfast so you could leave faster. Seriously, I was worried you were going to choke.”

“I was _not_ ,” Adora protested, “I was just really hungry! And I left because I wanted to watch this show Bow’s been telling me to start.”

“A likely story, Adora. Something is bothering you, I can tell,” Catra threw her legs over one of the chair’s armrests so she was sitting in it sideways.

“Nothing is bothering me!” Adora insisted, knowing it was a losing battle. Perhaps she should have this conversation with Catra now.

“Fine then, don’t talk to me,” Catra said, with a voice carefully constructed to be nonchalant. Then she yawned before lifting her arms and stretching, arching her back out of Adora’s chair. Adora couldn’t help but follow her body’s movement with her eyes, and couldn't help but stare at the strip of exposed skin around her friend’s abdomen. Even from the small glance, she could tell her friend still had the lean muscles she gained from gymnastics.

“Okay, fine, you’re right. I didn’t want to spend time with you and…” Adora trailed off and made a vague hand gesture, unsure exactly what to call the random girl of the morning. Date? Girlfriend? Potential girlfriend?

“My hookup?” Catra supplied helpfully, with a smile.

Adora considered the word for a few moments. All this time, she had been under the impression that Catra was looking for a relationship and that none of her previous connections had worked because the other only wanted sex. It had never occurred to her that Catra might also just be looking for sex. 

She didn’t know if that made it better or worse. Whenever Catra talked about these girls, Adora could almost feel her place in Catra’s life getting smaller. She wanted to be special to Catra, the person the other girl turned to for everything. She had been under the assumption that Catra was looking for someone else to be that close with, which meant that Adora wasn’t a good enough friend for Catra. But maybe that’s not what Catra was looking for, and maybe Adora was a good enough friend. Of course, that meant that the casual physical relationship Catra craved was something Adora couldn’t give her.

“Yeah, your hookups. I don’t want to spend time with them,” Adora tried out the new phrase, not liking how it felt in her mouth.

“Why don’t you like them?” Catra asked.

Adora shrugged, unsure how to express something she didn’t quite understand herself, “I don’t know. It’s just weird.”

Catra looked unimpressed with her explanation, “Yeah, but weird how? If anything, it would be more weird for me. _I’m_ the one who’s introducing the girl I fucked to my roommate who won’t stop glaring daggers at us.”

“I don’t know how to explain it Catra,” Adora sighed, “I just don’t like knowing they’re temporary. Like, you and I always stick together, and Bow and Glimmer are permanent friends and you have Scorpia and Entrapta, but these girls are always changing.”

Catra raised an eyebrow before asking playfully, “So you want me to pick one and settle down? Are you slut-shaming me, Adora?”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Adora shook her head, “Well, maybe? I just think you deserve better than hookups. Do these women even respect you?”

“Okay, first of all, you’re saying ‘these women’ as if I’ve been sleeping with the entire school. It’s only been four girls total, Adora,” Catra sat up a little straighter to defend herself, “Second, I happen to feel as if all four of those women respected me. And third, just because I’m having casual sex doesn’t mean I’m not also looking for a relationship. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. Also, my sex life isn’t really your business.”

“I’m not trying to make it my business! I just don’t like them and I don’t really know why. They give me bad vibes or something,” Adora said, exasperated. She honestly had no idea why these women upset her so much. She felt a familiar pang of fear in her gut as she realized that Catra was still looking for a relationship, so their friendship wasn’t enough for Catra after all. Adora felt something deep and desperate rush through her as she realized that she wasn’t enough for Catra after all. That Catra was looking for someone to replace her.

“Bad vibes,” Catra repeated thoughtfully. She was obviously considering Adora’s words, as if trying to decipher exactly why Adora was freaking out. Which, if she arrived at a conclusion, Adora would love to hear it.

Adora nodded, “Yeah, bad vibes. They just give me a bad feeling. Like they’re going to ruin something or cause trouble or something.” _Like they’re going to replace me as your favorite person._

Catra stared at her for a few moments before replying, “Well, I’ll see if I can find some girls with better vibes for you. I promise whatever relationships I have aren’t going to stop us from being friends.”

“Okay,” Adora said, not believing Catra for a moment. Maybe the other girl meant it now, but once she found someone who was able to give Catra both emotional _and_ physical intimacy, it was all over for Adora.

\---

Adora came back from her counselor meeting actually excited about her major. She had suggested linguistics, which Adora didn’t really know that much about. But based on the classes she was going to be taking next semester, it seemed like it was going to be much better.

She unlocked the door to her apartment and walked inside. She was feeling a little bad about arguing with Catra earlier that day. The other girl could spend time with whoever she wanted. She was fine when Bow and Glimmer hung out without her, so she didn’t know why it bothered her when it was Catra and another girl. The only difference she could think of was that Catra was dating other women while Glimmer and Bow were a “straight” couple. Wow, she was such a horrible person.

“Hey, how was your meeting?” Catra asked from her spot on the couch. After a hectic start to her week, Catra hadn’t had to do anything for the past two days, to Adora’s knowledge. Except for some much needed relaxation. Adora was glad to see the bags under her friend’s eyes getting smaller.

“It was good. She thinks I should try linguistics,” Adora said as she put her bag down. At least Catra didn’t seem to be holding a grudge.

“That sounds better,” Catra nodded politely. So maybe the other girl was still a little upset.

“I don’t really know what it is, but it sounds better! Although anything would be better than marketing,” Adora continued.

“Oh definitely. Fuck business majors,” Catra agreed with a smile, “So what time are Sparkles and Arrow coming over?”

Adora sighed, “You know their names are Bow and Glimmer. And they’re coming over in an hour. Bow has a late class today.”

“Okay, well I’m going to go to my room now. Just knock on the door when they get here.” Catra stood up and walked away. Strange, but not entirely off brand for Catra. 

Adora spent the next hour cleaning their living room and getting the snacks ready. She was just about done wiping off the coffee table for the fourth time when she heard a knock at their door. _Oh thank god._

“Catra, they’re here,” Adora yelled before opening the door. Sure enough, there were Bow and Glimmer, smiling widely.

“I hope you don’t mind, but we made some snacks!” Glimmer announced as she walked in and made herself comfortable on the couch.

“I made snacks. You just carried them over,” Bow pointed out as he followed her in.

There was the sound of a door closing and footsteps before Catra appeared in the living room. “Hey, what’s up guys?”

“Oh, hi Catra! Nice to see you,” Bow smiled at her.

“I hope you’re ready to go down,” Glimmer taunted.

“Oh, it’s on sweetheart,” Catra smirked before sitting down in the chair next to Adora, “What game are we playing?”

“How about uno?” Bow offered.

“What about something less competitive?” Adora stammered. Last time she played uno with Catra they had ended up giving each other the silent treatment for the rest of the day.

“What, are you scared of a little competition?” Catra taunted as she leaned into Adora’s personal space, “Scared you’ll lose again?”

“As if,” Adora leaned further in, not one to back down from a challenge, “You’re the one who should be scared.”

Catra leaned back quickly, too quickly, almost as if she was surprised by Adora’s proximity. Quick to save face, the other girl shrugged casually as she began to shuffle the cards, “Oh Adora, you’re all talk. Let’s see if you can actually back it up.”

Catra dealt the cards and started the game, starting with a reverse card so Adora went next instead of Glimmer. Beside Catra, Glimmer glared and crossed her arms. This was going to be a tense game.

\---

“Catra, you’re my best friend. I want you to know that,” Adora said solemnly. Catra only had two cards left, so she had to make her draw more. It was her only chance to win.

“Adora, don’t you dare. I will end you,” Catra threatened.

“It has to be done,” Adora shook her head before placing a draw four card in the pile.

Catra laughed, “Sorry, Adora, but I have a better idea.” She dramatically threw down another draw four card down before declaring “uno.”

“What? You can’t do that!” Glimmer protested from beside her.

“Oh, come on. Everyone knows you can stack draw four cards,” Catra argued. She was right; that’s how she and Adora had played it at home.

“No! That’s not an official rule,” Glimmer argued, crossing her arms and pouting.

“What do you mean it’s not an official rule?” Catra demanded.

“Well, if you look at uno’s twitter they said that you can’t stack draw four cards,” Bow butted in.

“Uno has a twitter?” Adora asked, desperately trying to keep up with the arguing. She really didn’t want to see Catra and Glimmer butt heads, but she supposed it couldn’t be avoided. They were both pretty confrontational.

“Well excuse me for not following the official uno twitter. Plus, that’s bullshit! Literally everyone lets you stack draw four cards,” Catra put her hands on her hips.

Glimmer glared at her, “Well it’s against the rules. So draw four, asshole.”

“No. That’s ridiculous. Adora, tell them they’re wrong,” Catra turned to her friend for support.

Adora shrugged, trying to remain neutral, “I don’t know! I guess we should have specified the rules before we started playing. It would make sense to defer to the official rules, though.”

“Oh, so now that stacking cards doesn’t help you, you're against it. I seem to remember you being very for it last time we played,” Catra shot back.

“I’m just saying! We obviously need to compromise here,” Adora defended herself. Although it was true that she had won many an uno game by stacking cards.

“Alright, everybody, let’s just calm down. How about we call it a draw and play something else?” Bow waved his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“And let Catra win? I don’t think so,” Glimmer huffed.

“You’re adorable when you’re pissed,” Catra laughed harshly, wielding the words as an insult.

“Guys, can we at least try to get along?” Adora interjected, “Catra, please?”

Catra looked at her for a moment and Adora gave the other girl her best puppy dog eyes. The brunette glared at her before sighing, “Fine. Let’s play something else. Sorry for getting too competitive.”

Glimmer nodded silently. Bow shoved her in the side.

“What?” Glimmer whispered.

Bow pointed to Catra, “Say you’re sorry.”

“Fine,” Glimmer groaned, “I’m sorry. I got a little too competitive there, too. And we should have specified the rules before we started playing.”

“Great! Now, how about some pictionary?” Bow suggested with a smile.

“Bow, why would you suggest that? You know I’m bad at drawing!” Glimmer shook her head.

Catra lit up, “Great! Let’s play pictionary then!”

“Adora, what do you want to play?” Glimmer asked, obviously hoping Adora would come up with another game. But Adora was also extremely competitive, and she was pretty confident that she and Catra could beat Bow and Glimmer.

“I think that pictionary sounds great! It’s not like any of us are super artistic,” Adora said, remembering how Catra used to doodle pictures of Adora over her notes when she was bored in class. Adora still had some of those doodles saved in a scrapbook, from that time she went through a crafting phase in middle school.

Glimmer crossed her arms dramatically, “Fine. But Bow’s going to be on my team.”

It turns out Glimmer really was bad at drawing. Like exceptionally bad. Like, Bow guessed “cat” when the correct answer was “alligator” bad.

“Bow! That’s obviously it’s mouth, look at the teeth! And _that’s_ its tail, and see how long its body is?” Glimmer motioned to her picture wildly, trying to show the rest of the group that she had, in fact, drawn an alligator.

“No offense Picasso, but cats also have mouths with teeth and long tails,” Catra pointed out, clearly amused.

Adora squinted at the picture, trying to figure out what the blob was, “If it’s an alligator why does it have ears?”

“Those are its _eyes._ You know how alligators have eyes on the top of their head?” Glimmer rolled her eyes.

“If those are the eyes,” Bow pointed to the bumps, “Then what are the face dots?”

“The nostrils, obviously,” Glimmer said plainly.

“Oh, you know what? I totally see it now!” Bow laughed, obviously no closer to understanding what Glimmer had drawn.

“Okay, so moving on,” Adora piped up, “I think it’s my turn now, right?”

Next to her, Catra nodded, “You better not fuck this up. We have the lead right now.”

“Oh come on, have some faith in me,” Adora laughed before drawing the next card. Which was shadow. Adora smiled to herself as she realized how easy this was going to be.

Adora started drawing a tall figure with exaggerated nails and thick glasses and a long, red dress. Beside her, Catra watched her drawing intently with an adorable focused expression on her face. She was just grabbing a black marker to color in the hair when Catra yelled, “Oh my god, it’s shadow isn’t it?”

“Yes!” Adora smiled before pulling her friend into an excited hug. Predictably, Catra melted into the hug, letting her face rest on Adora’s shoulder for a moment.

“Ow, get off of me,” Catra complained before shoving Adora away, a few moments too late for it to be convincing.

“I don’t believe this,” Glimmer looked at Adora’s drawing in disbelief, “There’s no way you guys aren’t cheating.”

“Name one way that we could cheat,” Catra crossed her arms defensively.

“I don’t know,” Glimmer shrugged, “But what I _do_ know is that that drawing doesn’t even have a shadow in it! You literally drew a woman _without_ a shadow!”

Bow nodded, “Yeah, I’m not really seeing where you got shadow from.”

“Oh, right, you two didn’t go to Horde High,” Adora remembered, “I guess it’s kind of an inside joke then. This is our health teacher, Ms. Weaver.”

“But we always called her Shadow Weaver because whenever you talked about breaking the rules she would appear out of nowhere and give you detention,” Catra continued, “I used to tell Kyle it was because she could literally manipulate shadows, and he believed me for a solid year. Hence, Shadow Weaver.”

“She sounds scary,” Bow said.

“Oh yeah, she was,” Adora agreed, “Especially during class. She was always like ‘if you have sex you will die a slow and painful death’ and ‘if you even think a sexual thought before you get married you’ll automatically go to hell.’”

“Which is ironic because she wasn’t married,” Catra butted in.

Glimmer looked at Adora and Catra, clearly shocked, “And they let this woman teach?”

“Yep. She was even tenured,” Catra nodded, “And she was so popular with the parents, I don’t think they could fire her even if they wanted to.”

“Why did the parents like her? She sounds horrible,” Bow asked.

Catra shrugged a little uncomfortably, “My parents were huge fans of her abstinence-or-die agenda. As were most of the parents in the district. Needless to say, our town has insanely high teen pregnancy rates.”

“So what do we get for winning?” Adora changed the subject. She didn’t really want to talk about Catra’s parents or Shadow Weaver, and she doubted Catra wanted to either. Shadow Weaver had somehow figured out that Catra was a lesbian and held it over her for the entirety of high school. Not exactly memories you want to relive on game night. 

“How does bragging rights sound?” Glimmer asked with a smile.

“It sounds fucking lame. I want a real prize,” Catra shook her head.

“The real prize is the friends you make along the way,” Bow nodded sagely.

Catra rolled her eyes, “Well that’s even worse, considering I didn’t make any friends. You guys seriously aren’t going to buy us drinks or something?”

“Okay, first off, we _are_ your friends, whether you like it or not,” Glimmer insisted, “And secondly, we’re not going to buy you drinks because Adora will get drunk off of one and then ruin the rest of our night.”

“It’s true, I do tend to do that,” Adora admitted sheepishly. She and Catra didn’t really drink in high school, so drinking in college was very new to her. Needless to say, she was a huge lightweight and had spent her first two parties in some random person’s bathroom puking her guts out. Even now that she understood moderation, drunk Adora was prone to long, emotional rants about whatever was on her mind. Which was usually Catra.

“How about I host game night next time?” Bow suggested, “And Glimmer will help me with the prep and the cleanup so you guys don’t have to?”

“I like the sound of that,” Catra agreed.

Adora smiled, “So you do enjoy spending time with us?”

“What? No!” Catra looked at Adora like a deer caught in headlights, “I just enjoy the feeling of crushing my competitors. It’s definitely not because I like you guys.”

“Sure,” Adora smiled smugly. She was glad Catra was getting along with her friends, even if it was a slow process.

“Okay, well this has been fun, but we really have to go,” Bow announced, looking sadly at his phone.

“Oh, that’s right! We promised my mom we would babysit Frosta tonight!” Glimmer remembered, standing up.

Adora snorted. Frosta, Glimmer’s niece, could be a real handful, “Good luck you two.”

“Thanks. We’ll need it,” Bow agreed as he opened the door for Glimmer. The two left, promising to text them about the next game night over their shoulders. When the door finally shut, Adora and Catra were left in an awkward silence.

“Well, I guess we should load the dishwasher. This apartment isn’t going to clean itself,” Catra suggested before gathering up the random glasses and dishes that had been used throughout the night.

“So, did you have fun?” Adora asked as she helped Catra load the dishwasher. Maybe now that it was the two of them, Catra would be more willing to talk about how much she enjoyed spending time together. Catra was always more open with her when it was just the two of them.

“Yeah, I guess,” Catra shrugged, “Although it’s pretty unfair that we had to play against a couple, even if we did win.”

“Well, I guess that just means we’re closer than a couple,” Adora said without thinking. _Shit, that came out so wrong._

Catra looked at her as if considering something, “You think so?”

“I guess. I mean, we’ve been friends for forever. It makes sense that we would be as close as two people who were dating, right?” Adora stammered. There was no arguing that they had some sort of special bond, even if things were strained right now.

“I guess you have a point,” Catra shrugged, “You know, I think everyone at Horde High thought we were dating.”

Adora froze. The idea of people mistaking them for a couple made her feel… something? It was warm, almost hopeful. Like she was happy people would think that. Which made no sense. She didn’t think of Catra like that. She never had. So why would people mistaking them as a couple make her happy?

“Well that’s weird, but not too surprising,” She finally settled on saying, “We did spend like all of our time together.”

Catra rummaged through their cupboards to find the dishwasher detergent, almost pointedly avoiding eye contact with Adora. “Is that what couples do?”

Adora hesitated. She didn’t really know what couples did other than have sex. Logically, she knew they spent time together and enjoyed each other’s company, but that’s exactly what she did with Catra. And they were nowhere close to dating. “Honestly, I don’t really know.”

“Maybe you should figure it out,” Catra suggested, turning around until she was looking at Adora directly.

There was a tense silence in the room, but Adora wasn’t sure why. It felt like they were both waiting for something to happen, for some major turning point in their relationship, but she had no idea what it was. It was like she was at a crossroads but there was a thick fog obstructing the roads in front of her.

“What... do you mean by that?” Adora said slowly, confused by the intense turn their conversation had taken.

Catra shrugged as if she couldn’t feel the tension that was about to snap, “You know, what makes us friends instead of girlfriends?”

Adora gaped at her friend. _Girlfriends?_

“To be clear, I’m not saying we’re girlfriends,” Catra amended with a look of mild panic on her face, “I’m just saying, you should probably figure out the difference between friendship and relationships before you get into one and it turns out to be something you don’t want.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Adora smiled, trying to hide the crisis she was currently having. Because what was a relationship, and if it wasn’t like what she had with Catra, did she even want it? Maybe she was just someone who didn’t want to date. The more she thought about it, the happier the idea of spending her life as Catra’s best friend made her. Who needed some messy relationship with kids and gender roles when she could spend a lifetime with her best friend?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *shits on business majors the entire fic and includes the phrase "fuck business majors" in my fic*  
> Also me: *has been talking to a business major for all of quarantine and will probably date her when we get back to college*
> 
> Please imagine how terrifying it would be to have Shadow Weaver as your health teacher. Also I know I said I genderbent Kyle in an earlier chapter but I just couldn't pass up mentioning him here so I guess there's two of them now?
> 
> Thank you guys for sharing all you Avatar crushes with me! You're all so valid; all of the Avatar characters (but especially the women) are badass :) Also, I have a playlist that's basically what I view as being Catra's music taste [ here! ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Shp028EJKIf174najMDua?si=yvM_wIaJRsaBTkNZ-ez91w)  
> Please don't be mad at me for having shitty music taste.


	8. Laser Tag

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thank you guys so much for over 500 kudos!! The support for this fic has been amazing!
> 
> This chapter is very long and a lot happens but I didn't want to split it into two, so enjoy. Also, I feel like it's my duty to remind everyone that Adora is not the only idiot in this relationship. It takes two to tango, after all :)

So Adora was _jealous_ of all of Catra’s dates. Catra wasn’t all that surprised at the realization. She had always had a suspicion that Adora was into girls in some capacity--Catra’s never seen a straight girl have such a blatant disregard for how men viewed her--and this was confirmation. Honestly, Catra was disappointed in herself for not seeing it sooner. She had seen the way Adora’s eyes lingered on her, after all.

Of course, there was the little issue of what exactly Adora wanted from her. Catra wasn’t an idiot; she knew that her personality was difficult and that most people just paid attention to her because they liked the way she looked or they viewed her as “exotic.” At the end of the day, most people would rather use her for sex instead of trying to deal with her issues. If anything, her time trying to date other people just confirmed that. So the probability that Adora actually _liked_ her the way Catra liked Adora was extremely low.

But her friend was definitely interested in some capacity, even if it was purely physical. The thought that she would have to settle for just having sex with her best friend hurt more than she cared to admit. She wanted to be _everything_ to Adora. She wanted to be the person the other girl celebrated with in her happiest moments. She wanted to be the person to comfort her when she failed. She wanted to be the person that Adora trusted with her deepest secrets.

But she knew that wasn’t going to happen. Not with the way Adora’s life was going. She would probably find some nice girl on the field hockey team to settle down with and have a family and kids and a normal life. And with the current trajectory of their friendship, Catra would be lucky to even be invited to the wedding.

So Catra was going to take what she could get. Would hooking up with Adora ruin her? Absolutely. But if Catra was anything it was self-destructive, and if their friendship was going to go to shit either way, why not get laid before the inevitable split? At least an ill-advised hookup would give Adora grounds for making a clean break, giving both girls closure. Which Catra needed more than she needed air. Catra could only take their weird limbo for so long. There was only so much pining, so much sexual tension that a girl could endure before reaching her breaking point, and Catra was certainly nearing hers. At the end of the day, Adora’s field hockey friends were already going to force Catra and Adora to cut ties, so they might as well do it with a bang.

Then, of course, there was the issue that Adora definitely hadn’t caught on that she wanted to fuck Catra. Adora had always repressed herself. Not just sexually, but emotionally and socially. It was as if the other girl was afraid to want things. As if being selfish was the root of all evils. So Catra was going to have to somehow seduce her best friend so hard that the other girl let go of her inhibitions and actually admitted to herself that she had _needs._

It was a tall order but Catra could work with this. She was attractive and knew how to flirt. If she just pushed Adora’s buttons enough, she would be able to force the other girl to realize her attraction. And then Catra could have an hour or so of bliss--although it might be shorter if her emotions caught up to her--before cleaning up the inevitable mess and going on with her life. 

Deciding to change gears from getting over Adora to seducing her, Catra needed to come up with a better approach. Now more than ever, Catra wanted Adora to see her with other people. Something about having the power to make her friend _jealous_ was addicting. After a year of separation, Catra finally had her friend’s attention back on her. And it felt so good.

But now that she knew that one day she could potentially sleep with Adora, she didn’t want to waste time on random girls. It’s not like she was getting anywhere in the first place, and the last thing she wanted was a pissed off ex when this was all said and done.

“Catra!” Scorpia’s voice cut through Catra’s brainstorming session. She hadn’t planned on zoning out during D&D, but Adora had been on her mind a lot lately.

“What?” Catra snapped, trying her best to pretend like she hadn’t just ignored everything that had happened in the last five minutes. In her defense, it was a lot of establishing Lonnie’s character’s backstory, which Catra didn’t really care about.

“You good? You kind of zoned out there for a bit,” Scorpia informed her, looking at her with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired. What’s happening?”

“You’re trying to infiltrate the royal ball,” Entrapta narrated from her spot behind the screen, “But this ball is couples only! Which is a problem because you’re single.”

“That literally makes no sense. Why would a ball be couples only?” Catra protested. Her character, a tiefling rogue, had miserably low charisma, so there was no way she would be able to find a date to this stupid ball. Which, again, had no reason to be couples only.

“Because the king says so,” Entrapta glared at Catra from behind her screen, “And because all of you have been ignoring my NPCs so now you have to interact with them.”

“I for one think it’s a wonderful idea,” Scorpia added, encouraging her friend.

“Fine. I go to a bar and flirt with the nearest person,” Catra said.

Entrapta brightened up immediately, “Great! You go to the local tavern and there you find a half orc! What do you say to her?”

“I don’t know. I guess I offer to buy her a drink.”

“Okay, make a charisma check for me.”

Catra rolled her d20, groaning as it landed on 5. “Well fuck me. That’s a five minus two so three.”

Entrapta winced, “Okay, so you accidentally say something offensive and she throws the rest of her drink at you. Now you’re covered in ale and everyone is staring at you.”

“Great,” Catra fumed, “Well I guess I leave and find the rest of the party.”

“Okay. And where is the rest of the party?” Entrapta asked, turning to Scorpia and Lonnie.

“I’m in the town square performing for the people,” Scorpia decided.

“And I guess I’m there with her collecting money,” Lonnie suggested.

“Sounds good! So Catra, you walk into the square, covered in ale, and see Scorpia’s character performing. What do you do?” Entrapta asked.

“I drag her off the stage so I can talk to both of them.”

“Hey! I was in the middle of an amazing song about being a spy,” Scorpia said in her character’s voice, “The audience was loving it!”

“Whatever. We have a bigger problem. That ball is tonight and I still don’t have a date. Actually, do any of us have dates?” 

“Yeah, I’m going with the squire we met last session,” Lonnie interjected, looking a little offended Catra didn’t know that. Oops.

“I, unfortunately, do not have a date,” Scorpia added.

“Okay, so Scorpia and I need dates,” Catra mused, trying to figure it out, “But I just got rejected and now I stink, so getting me a date is pretty much a no-go.”

Lonnie sighed, “Why don’t you two just go together?”

“Because we’re not a couple,” Scorpia pointed out.

“You don’t have to be an actual couple. You can just pretend so they let you in,” Lonnie rolled her eyes as if it were obvious. Which it was. How could Catra not have thought of that?

“Of course! That’s the perfect solution!” Catra exclaimed, “All I need to do is fake date someone.”

“You mean me?” Scorpia asked.

“You know, that could actually work. Adora would probably buy that we’re dating,” Catra continued, forgetting all about the game.

“Why are you talking about Adora? She’s not playing,” Entrapta said, motioning to the miniatures set out in front of them.

Catra rolled her eyes, “I’m not talking about the game anymore, I’m talking about real life. I need someone to help me make Adora jealous, and it could totally be Scorpia!” 

“Wait, _you_ want to fake date _me_? Like, in real life?” Scorpia looked at Catra in shock.

“Yeah, that’s literally what I just said.”

“Can you two talk about this later? I just want to go to the ball,” Lonnie interrupted Catra’s scheming.

“Fine. But don’t think we’re done talking about this,” Catra sent a pointed look over to Scorpia before resuming their in-game planning.

\---

“So Scorpia, what do you think? You and me, fake dating?” Catra asked as they packed up.

“I don’t know, Catra. Won’t that be weird?”

“Why would it be weird?”

“We’re besties! I just think it would be weird to all of a sudden pretend like we’re dating,” Scorpia pointed out.

“Well we don’t have to pretend all the time. Just around Adora,” Carta argued.

“Okay, I hear you. But consider: if Adora thinks we’re dating, Perfuma will think we’re dating too. I don’t want her to think I’m taken.”

“Scorpia, don’t you see? This is perfect! We both get to make the person we’re interested in jealous!” Catra exclaimed, excited at her idea. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

“I’m not sure, Catra,” Scorpia hesitated, “Wouldn’t it be better for us to just, I dunno, _talk_ to the people we like? It’s much more direct and Perfuma says communication is the key to any healthy relationship.”

Catra rubbed her eyes in exasperation. Damn Perfuma and her mental stability. “Okay, well we don’t have to _say_ we’re dating. We can just hold hands and hug and stuff and then if people act like we’re dating we just won’t correct them. Plus, I’m sure Perfuma would understand if you were doing it to help your friend out.”

Scorpia took some time to consider Catra’s argument. Catra was pretty confident that Scorpia would agree after she played the friends card. She did feel a little bad about messing with Scorpia’s relationships, but as far as she knew things between Scorpia and Perfuma were currently pretty stagnant. This could be the push the other couple needed to become official.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” Scorpia finally agreed, “But if things start going well with Perfuma we’re stopping, even if you’re not with Adora yet.”

Catra nodded. That seemed fair, “Sounds good. So do you wanna be my date to Adora’s laser tag night tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that sounds awesome!” Scorpia’s eyes widened in excitement, “Who's going to be there?”  
“Mainly her field hockey friends,” Catra made a dismissive motion, “And I’m pretty sure that includes Perfuma. It’ll be the perfect opportunity to set our plan in motion.”

\---

As predicted, when Catra arrived at the laser tag place with her hand in Scorpia’s, Adora’s eyes widened in surprise. Surprise that quickly morphed into a glare at Scorpia. A glare that was the result of jealousy, Catra now knew, which sent a rush of confidence through her.

“Catra! You brought Scorpia?” Adora said as she walked over to them, confusion evident in her voice.

“Yeah. You said I could bring a date, so I did,” Catra shrugged, answering the unspoken question of _are you two together?_ She silently hoped that Adora wouldn’t be too mean to Scorpia because of this. Her friend could be annoying and clingy at times, but Catra didn’t actually want anything bad to happen to her.

“I hope I’m not intruding,” Scorpia added with a nervous smile.

“Nope! I’m always glad to spend time with you, Scorpia,” Adora smiled with fake cheerfulness, “So I’m assuming you two want to be on the same team?”

“Naturally,” Catra agreed, “Nothing like working in a team to bring two people together.”

Adora narrowed her eyes at Catra before responding, “Okay then, you two can join Team Flower Power. I’m sure Perfuma could use the help to take the Princesses of Power down.”

As if on cue, Scorpia lit up instantly, “We’d be happy to help her! You better watch your back, Adora, because we’re coming for you!”

“That’s the spirit,” Catra encouraged, making sure to smile up at Scorpia as widely as possible, “Although I don’t think it’ll be too difficult to take on a few _princesses_.”

“I don’t know, I seem to recall being better at laser tag than you,” Adora reminded her with a smirk, “Anyways, I’m going to strategize with the Princesses now. Perfuma’s over there,” Adora gestured to the other side of the lobby where Perfuma was talking with a tall, tan man while Mermista looked on unenthusiastically. Not exactly the most inspiring group of people, but Catra could work with this.

“Hey guys! Looks like we’re on your team! Love the name, very inspiring,” Scorpia greeted the group with a smile. Perfuma visibly brightened as she turned to see the taller girl. Catra definitely had to admit that the two had chemistry.

“Scorpia, I didn’t know you were coming!” Perfuma exclaimed with a radiant smile. Catra had only met Perfuma a few times, but every time she was left feeling as if she should have worn sunglasses. 

“Yeah, she’s my plus one,” Catra explained, noticing how Perfuma visibly deflated.

“Hello, ladies, I don’t believe we’ve met,” The man beside Perfuma butted into the conversation, “My name is Sea Hawk, and I’m the captain of the men’s field hockey team. And the lover of the beautiful Mermista--”

“--Ugh, don’t phrase it like that, it sounds so weird,” Mermista groaned, “But yeah, he’s my boyfriend or whatever. It’s really not that big of a deal.”

“I’ve gathered that you are Scorpia,” Sea Hawk continued, as if he hadn’t been interrupted, “Which means you must be Catra! Adora talks about you often.”

 _What was it with Adora and telling her friends about me?_ “Yeah, I’m Catra. So what’s the game plan?”

“Game plan?” Perfuma asked.

“Yeah, you know, how are we going to beat the Princesses of Power? Are we going to overwhelm them with a head-on attack or are we going to ambush them? Do we want to take the high ground? Are we going to focus on defense or offense?” Catra elaborated. She may have already succeeded in her goal of making Adora jealous, but she did still want to kick her ass at laser tag.

“Oh, we don’t really do that on team Flower Power,” Perfuma laughed, “We’re really more about having fun! Just do your best to hit as many people as possible.”

“You can’t be serious,” Catra looked at her team in shock, “Adora’s team is going to kick our asses if we don’t plan. Right, Scorpia?”

“I mean, yeah, we’ll probably lose. But this is more about having fun! We don’t have to plan every little thing,” Scorpia said, looking put on the spot. Which was fair.

“Winning is fun,” Catra pointed out.

“I’m with the roommate,” Mermista piped up, “I’m tired of losing to the Princesses all the time. Let’s like assign roles this time or something.”

“Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” Perfuma shrugged.

“Okay, so I’m thinking we split up so some of us are on defense and some of us are on offense. Anyone have a preference?” Catra suggested. She would have preferred a more in-depth strategy, but this was probably about as much strategizing as her team would be willing to do.

“Well, I think I’d prefer to be on defense. I’m not really one for confrontation,” Perfuma said with a small smile. Of course Catra was on a team with a fucking pacifist.

“Ooh, I could do defense too. I’m tall so I can shield our base!” Scorpia suggested, smiling at Perfuma, who was now nodding encouragingly.

“Okay, sounds good. I’ll be on offense then,” Catra nodded, deciding not to point out that Scorpia shouldn’t be spending time with Perfuma while on a “date” with Catra. She did promise to give Scorpia opportunities to get together with Perfuma, after all.

“I too will be on offense! I will bravely rush into enemy territory just as I do on the field,” Sea Hawk announced, much to Mermista’s chagrin.

“Yeah, I’m gonna stick with defense. Running isn’t really my thing,” Mermista sighed.

“Don’t you play field hockey? Isn’t that like literally your whole thing?” Catra asked.

Mermista shrugged, “Well, yeah, but I meant like off the field or whatever. I don’t want to run more than necessary.”

“Okay then. So two on offense and three on defense. Let’s kick some laser tag ass!” Scorpia cheered, obviously trying to get team morale up.

“Yeah! Let’s do our best!” Perfuma joined in, pumping a fist in the air.

“To victory!” Sea Hawk added with a smile.

As ready as they would ever be, the team made their way to the arena’s entrance. Adora’s team was already there waiting.

“Took you long enough,” Adora taunted with a smug grin.

“Yeah! I think it took longer for you guys to get over here than it’ll take for us to beat you,” Glimmer added from beside her. So trash talking wasn’t her strong suit. Good to know.

Catra put on her best smirk, “Careful there, Sparkles, I think you’re forgetting the rules. It’s a point-based system, not a time thing. I’m assuming you know what points are?”

“Hey! It’s _Glimmer._ And yes I know what points are,” Glimmer huffed adorably.

A woman with white hair in a stylish undercut put her hand on Glimmer’s shoulder, “Just ignore her. She’s trying to get a rise out of you.”

“And from the looks of it, it’s working. Isn’t it, Shimmer?” Catra pointed out, causing Glimmer to cross her arms angrily.

“Can everyone be quiet? This guy’s trying to explain the rules to us,” A woman with light purple hair pulled back into a ponytail scolded before turning her attention back to the man at the front of the room.

Catra had played laser tag enough times both with Adora in high school and with the STEM majors that she knew the rules, so she took the time to look at Adora. Who was wearing a tight white athletic shirt that really showed off her shoulders. Catra watched how her muscles shifted as she put her vest on and reached for her gun.

“And your time starts… NOW,” The employee said, startling Catra out of her gay fantasy.

Everyone sprinted into the arena at once, the red of team Flower Power darting to the left towards their base while the blue of team Princesses of Power raced to the right. Catra followed her team until she saw their base before turning back to go on the offense. She was going to find Adora.

It wasn’t clear to Catra what the other team’s plan was, but she didn’t run into any opposing players as she ran into enemy territory. Catra was close enough to see the light coming from the other team’s base before she heard footsteps. She quickly ducked behind a wall with some convenient holes as Adora rounded the corner.

Perfect. There was Adora, in all her athletic glory, and she had no idea Catra was there. This was the ideal shot, so Catra took it.

“Hello?” Adora looked around confused as her vest made a noise and started flashing. 

“Oh, hey Adora,” Catra stepped out from her cover confidently. She had a few seconds before Adora’s suit powered up again and she could shoot Catra. Until then, she was a sitting duck.

“Catra! How did you get here so fast?” Adora asked, obviously buying time until she could shoot Catra.

“I ran,” Catra said before shooting Adora exactly when her suit came back online. Adora groaned as she realized she was yet again incapacitated.

“Seriously, Catra, not even letting me hit you? That’s a coward’s move,” Adora taunted with a smile.

Catra took a few steps closer, intent on reaching the base, “The whole point of the game is to not get hit, Adora. Seems to me like you’re just a sore loser.”

Adora stood her ground as Catra continued walking closer, “I’m not letting you get to the base, Catra.”

Catra took another step, until her gun was touching the sensors on Adora’s chest. Again, she shot Adora just as her suit powered up, incapacitating her for a third time. Then Catra leaned up into Adora’s personal space, finally forcing the other girl to step backward until her back was against the nearest wall.

“It doesn’t really seem like there’s anything you can do to stop me, Adora,” Catra boasted, her face close enough to Adora’s that she could hear the other girl’s ragged breathing. Catra allowed her eyes to drop to Adora’s lips for a languid moment before snapping up to her wide, deep blue eyes. Catra felt pride surge through her as she realized just what her proximity did to the other girl.

“Catra if you shoot our base I swear to God I’m hunting you down for the rest of the game,” Adora threatened with a shaky voice, trying to save face.

“Is that a promise?” Catra whispered near her friend’s ear, shooting Adora for a fourth time. It was difficult to see in the black light, but Catra was pretty sure Adora was blushing. Then Catra stepped away from Adora and nimbly turned around and sprinted for the base. She managed to shoot it once before getting hit in the back.

“Not so tough now, huh?” Adora said from behind her. Catra didn’t need to turn around to see the smug look of victory on her friend’s face, but she did anyway. It was a good look on her.

“I dunno. I _did_ just hit your base, so who really won here?” Catra shrugged, mentally preparing herself to pounce the second her gun started working again.

“Well considering I have you right where I want you,” Adora stepped closer to Catra, using her own move against her and backing her into the wall, “I’d still say it’s me.”

It was times like these that Catra had trouble believing Adora when she said she didn’t really think about sex. Sure, she could believe not being attracted to people often, but Adora definitely had a libido. The other girl had her all but pinned to the wall and was smirking down at her with confidence. There was no non sexual explanation to the way Adora’s eyes lingered on Catra’s lips before drifting down to her chest. Sure, there was the sensor there, but Adora was _staring_.

Adora didn’t even blink as she zapped Catra’s sensor again. Then she stepped forward again, until her knee was between Catra’s legs. Catra’s brain short circuited. All she could do was stare at Adora’s lips desperately, willing her friend to get the hint and just make out with her against this wall already. She could practically see herself grinding down on Adora’s thigh as the taller girl used her body weight to hold her in place.

“Catra? Are you okay?” Adora’s face turned from intense and hungry to confused and concerned in a matter of seconds. If Catra wasn’t so frustrated, she might have laughed. Only Adora would be oblivious enough to interpret Catra’s signals as discomfort. Catra had been seconds away from closing the distance between their lips herself.

But now Adora was distracted, and Catra couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste. She pushed back against Adora, who was too surprised to stop her, and ran away into the maze of the arena. “Yeah, I’m all good. You better stick to your promise, princess. Catch me if you can!”

“Oh, it’s on!” Adora called after her. Catra could hear her friend’s footsteps behind her, but Catra was nimble and was able to duck behind cover before her friend could get a clear shot. They spent the rest of their game in their own private competition, Catra hiding behind cover in an attempt to ambush her friend and Adora steadily gaining on Catra. They both got hit a few times, but they were too engrossed in chasing each other that they barely noticed.

Catra was sprinting up some stairs to get the high ground on her friend when a voice announced “Time’s up” over the speakers. Reluctantly, Catra made her way back down the stairs, where Adora was waiting for her.

“You never caught me,” Catra gloated.

Adora rolled her eyes, “Someone’s forgetting all the times I shot her. You definitely lost.”

“Oh yeah? Well someone else is forgetting all the times I shot _her_ ,” Catra shot back.

They rounded the corner to the exit together and found the rest of their group waiting for them. Scorpia raised an eyebrow at Catra, but no one else found Catra and Adora’s joint appearance odd. Although Bow and Glimmer were definitely exchanging glances.

“You guys are just in time! They’re posting the results now,” Perfuma informed them.

The screens in front of them lit up with the team scores and individual scores. Catra had the highest individual score, but the Princesses of Power were the winning team.

“Look, Adora, I’m better at laser tag than you,” Catra motioned to the screen proudly. She loved winning, especially if it was beating Adora. She had a competitive streak, sue her.

“But _my_ team won, Catra. I was just distracting you so Spinerella and Netossa could take on Sea Hawk and Bow and Glimmer could get to your base. Laser tag is about teamwork,” Adora pointed out proudly.

Catra was not about to admit that she was outsmarted by Adora. “Whatever. This proves nothing. We’ll just have to have a rematch, _princess_.”

Adora elbowed her in the side playfully, “Oh, you’re on.”

\---

Catra was frantically trying to catch up on the assignments she had pushed back to go to laser tag when her phone buzzed. With an annoyed groan, Catra picked it up.

[New Group: You, Sparkles, Arrow]

>>[Sparkles] So, laser tag huh?

>>[Sparkles] Did you have fun?

<<Wtf why are you texting me

<<And why did you put me in a group chat w your boy

>>[Arrow] We just want to talk to our new friend!

>>[Sparkles] He’s not my boy

<<Lol a likely story

<<Why are you asking me about laser tag

>>[Arrow] We just wanted to make sure you had fun!

<<Yea I did

<<Now get off my dick

>>[Arrow] Rude <(｀^´)>

>>[Sparkles] Look we saw you come back with Adora

>>[Sparkles] And heard you call her princess

>>[Sparkles] And she was mia the whole game

>>[Sparkles] So how much fun did you really have

<<Why don’t you ask her? If you’re really friends she would tell you

>>[Arrow] Have you tried talking to Adora about her sex life? She’s so awkward about it…

<<Well I hate to break it to you but we didn’t have that kind of fun

>>[Sparkles] Don’t lie to us. We see the way you two look at each other

<<I don’t lie

<<Often

<<Also Adora’s straight

>>[Sparkles] You seriously buy that?

<<Lmao do you think I’m an idiot??? Ofc not!

<<But I’m not about to hook up with a “straight” girl

<<Seriously, I know I haven’t done much to make you think I’m a good person but have some faith in me

<<Also public sex is not my thing ;)

>>[Arrow] But you do have a crush on her?

<<Why would I tell you that

<<Don’t you guys hate me

>>[Arrow] Woah hate is a strong word

>>[Sparkles] We’re willing to call a truce

>>[Sparkles] Although it would be nice if you could actually remember our names for once…

<<I’ll do my best, Twinkle

>>[Sparkles] Omg that’s not even close!

>>[Sparkles] Why are you being so difficult?!

>>[Sparkles] We can help you!

>>[Sparkles] We have a plan

<<What kind of plan???

<<And why me?

>>[Sparkles] Well the thing is, Adora’s level of repression can NOT be healthy

>>[Sparkles] And we want to make sure she’s in the right place emotionally

>>[Arrow] Long story short Adora needs to get in a relationship

>>[Arrow] And before that she needs to have a sexuality crisis

>>[Sparkles] We can’t make either of those happen on our own, but you can make both happen

Catra stared at her phone for a few seconds. Were Adora’s friends seriously willing to help her send Adora into a sexuality crisis? It seemed off-brand for them, but Catra had to agree that Adora would be happier if she spent more time examining her own sexuality. And there were obvious benefits for Catra.

<<Okay, I’m listening

>>[Sparkles] Great

>>[Sparkles] Meet us by Light Hope’s statue in 10

<<Fine

Catra sighed as she put down her homework. She didn’t know why Adora’s friends wanted to talk to her in person, but if it got her to hook up with Adora, she was all for it. She made her way to the statue, rounding the corner to find Adora’s friends standing underneath it awkwardly.

“This had better be a fucking good plan,” Catra said in lieu of a greeting.

“Oh, it is,” Glimmer nodded smugly as Bow smiled beside her.

Catra rolled her eyes. She doubted it. “So what’s the plan then?”

“Okay, well you know how Adora has that huge crush on you?” Glimmer asked as Bow nodded beside her as if it was obvious.

“No?” Catra said, confused. Sure, Adora was _attracted_ to her, but a crush? That was way too out there. People didn’t get crushes on Catra; they just wanted to have sex with her.

“Wait, what?” Bow asked as Glimmer’s eyes widened in shock.

“I mean yeah she definitely wants to fuck me,” Catra started idly running her fingers through her hair, “But I don’t think she wants to date me.”

“You two are made for each other,” Glimmer rolled her eyes.

“Catra, Adora _really_ likes you,” Bow added.

“What the fuck are you talking about? There’s no way Adora has a crush on me,” Catra insisted, not thrilled with the way this conversation was going. She was not about to explain to Bow and Glimmer of all people that there was no way Adora had a crush on her because Catra had a shit personality and pushed everyone away.

“She hates it when you’re with other people and she’s always looking at you and smiling,” Bow pointed out.

“Yeah, because she’s attracted to me and wants to have sex,” Catra stated the obvious.

“Catra no,” Glimmer sighed, shaking her head as if disappointed.

“Catra, she literally talks about you all the time,” Bow said as if that made everything make sense.

Glimmer nodded in agreement, “It would be annoying if it wasn’t so cute.”

Catra shook her head. There was no way she was getting her hopes up. “Okay but just because she talks about me doesn’t mean she likes me like _that_.”

Glimmer pouted and made a frustrated noise, “Catra I literally can’t eat ice cream in front of her because my favorite flavor is strawberry and that happens to be your favorite flavor so every time I have ice cream Adora goes ‘oh wow, strawberry is Catra’s favorite flavor too’ and then she launches into some story about you two eating ice cream when you were like ten.”

“Yeah, and one time at a party I said Kiera Knightley was pretty and Adora started crying and saying you were the bravest person she knew. Which was totally unprompted and honestly a bit concerning,” Bow added.

“Did you know every time anyone complains about struggling in a class Adora tells them to ask you because you’re the smartest person she knows and also an amazing teacher? And, no offense, but I find it very hard to believe that _you’re_ a good teacher,” Glimmer crossed her arms and glared at Catra, as if Catra had committed some sort of crime.

Catra stared at the duo in shock. Could Adora actually like her as a person? Catra couldn’t really think of the last person who had liked her for her _personality_ instead of her body. The concept made her feel uncontrollably happy, so much so that it was almost a physical sensation. She was dangerously on the verge of a smile, and she was sure these two jocks could see her holding back. How embarrassing.

“Okay, so maybe she wants a relationship,” Catra said slowly, still registering everything that was happening, “But she doesn’t even know it yet.”

“Well, that’s where our plan comes in!” Glimmer exclaimed, obviously excited now that Catra was on board.

“It had better be good. I don’t know if you guys understand exactly how good Adora is at repressing shit,” Catra crossed her arms.

“Oh, it’ll work,” Bow said confidently, “So phase one is making Adora jealous.”

“Which, good job. You should see how beside herself she gets every time you bring someone back,” Glimmer nodded at Catra appreciatively, “And that whole thing with Scorpia is absolutely genius. I thought she was going to break something when she saw you two holding hands.”

“Wait, you’re not actually dating Scorpia, are you?” Bow asked.

Catra shook her head, “Nope. I was just doing that to get a rise out of Adora. She’s so easily agitated.”

“You’re just as crafty as you look,” Glimmer noted, “Anyways, keep it up. I think it’s working.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Catra nodded.

“And while you’re doing your thing with Scorpia, Glimmer and I will do our best to make her understand that what she’s feeling is jealousy,” Bow continued.

“Okay, this is all well and good but isn’t this all stuff we’ve already been doing? From what you’ve been saying, I’m assuming you’ve already tried to make her realize she’s jealous and I know I have been doing a fabulous job on the jealousy front,” Catra pointed out.

“Yeah, but that’s just phase one,” Glimmer wiggled her eyebrows comically.

Bow nodded, “Phase two is making Adora realize what she feels for you specifically is more than friendship.”

“And how will we do that?” Catra asked.

“Well you are going to start flirting with her, for one thing,” Glimmer looked at Catra pointedly. If you had told Catra from an hour ago that Glimmer would be demanding that she flirt with Adora _more_ , she would have thought you were crazy. And yet, here they were.

“And we’re going to help you spend more time with her in more romantic contexts,” Bow smiled in excitement.

“Romantic situations?” Catra asked, unimpressed.

“You know, cute stuff! Like ice skating. They just opened a rink in the park and we were planning on inviting Adora to skate with us. You should come,” Bow offered.

Catra sighed. She didn’t really want to spend more time with these two, but they seemed to be her allies now. And honestly, they weren’t as annoying as they looked. “Okay, ice skating. I can do that. Anything else?”

“We’ll do our best to prompt her to think of you romantically,” Glimmer added, “And we should do our best to communicate with each other so we know what’s happening. That way you won’t be blindsided if she comes at you with a bunch of emotions.”

“Yeah, I would appreciate a warning before that,” Catra agreed.

“Great! So it’s settled, Operation: Catradora is officially a go!” Bow cheered as he pumped his fist in the air.

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Catra demanded.

“Catradora? It’s your ship name! It’s a mixture of Catra and Adora,” Bow explained. Great, so now Catra and Adora had a fucking _ship name._ Catra would never be able to take herself seriously ever again.

“So what’s yours? Arkles? Sparrow? Oh, that’s actually kind of cute.”

“You really need to actually know the people’s names before combining them,” Glimmer huffed, although Catra could have sworn she was blushing.

“What are you talking about? I know your name, Sparkles,” Catra insisted with a smirk, delighting in the pout that came across Glimmer’s face. That girl was even easier to irritate than Adora, and Catra was living for it.

“Anyways,” Bow interrupted before Glimmer exploded, “We’re a team now guys! Let’s just work together so that Adora can be happy.”

“Fine. But this is _only_ because Adora is hurting herself right now,” Glimmer glared at Catra.

“Really feeling the love,” Catra rolled her eyes, “Go team.”

Glimmer glared at Catra, who was leaning against the wall and doing her best to look unenthusiastic. Bow smiled at them both placatingly, with hope in his eyes. They were an odd group, that’s for sure. But maybe, just maybe, they would be able to pull this plan off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that Catra canonically doesn't realize that Adora loves her until Adora explicitly says it because she is also a dumb lesbian.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading/leaving kudos/commenting <3


	9. Ice Skating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, just last chapter I was thanking everyone for 500 kudos and now I have over 600!! Thank you all so much for your support; it makes writing and publishing this so rewarding :)
> 
> In other news, this is one of my favorite chapters. It was so fun to write and for whatever reason it just came together super quickly and next thing I knew I had written almost 6k words again.
> 
> Also I am SO sorry for Adora in this chapter. You will not be happy with her by the end, but to be fair you guys did sign up for "slow burn" and "sexuality crisis" and I'm planning on delivering.

Adora was really done with Scorpia. It was like every time she went back to her apartment Scorpia was there, making Catra laugh and smile and be happy. They weren't aggressive with PDA or anything--Adora hadn’t even seen them so much as kiss in front of her--but she was still weirded out by it. Every time she saw the couple talking it felt like a knife in her heart.

It didn’t help that Catra wouldn’t shut up about Scorpia. Every conversation they had Catra was talking about how Scorpia cooked her the best pad thai she had ever eaten last night or how Scorpia texted her the _funniest_ memes throughout the day or how Scorpia was just perfect in every way imaginable and no one could ever compare to her. Adora was done hearing about it. Sure, Scorpia was nice, but she really couldn’t be all that. She’d probably never even scored a hat trick against their rival team in the regional championships, essentially securing her team’s victory. Not that Adora was in the habit of comparing herself to Scorpia or anything. It was just an observation.

She couldn’t even challenge Catra to a not-so-friendly game of Mario Kart without Scorpia being there. So there the three of them were, sitting on the couch playing Mario Kart. Well, Adora and Catra were playing Mario Kart, Scorpia was just cheering Catra on like an annoying third wheel. Not that Adora was letting it distract her.

Catra cheered as she hit Adora with a well-aimed red shell and zoomed past her. Adora scolded herself for not avoiding it. Perhaps she was a bit distracted after all.

Unable to make up her lost ground before the end of the race, Adora found herself in third place. Behind Catra in first and a cpu in second. How embarrassing.

“How does it feel to suck at Mario Kart, princess?” Catra smirked at her. Adora could hear her heartbeat rapidly increasing as Catra held her gaze. Adora would never admit it, but she loved it when Catra called her princess. It made her feel as if their recent attempts to repair their old friendship were succeeding. 

It also made her heart rate increase, much like when they were taunting each other during laser tag. It was a new sensation and something she hadn’t quite figured out yet. What this what happiness felt like?

Trying to feign normalcy, Adora shrugged, “I don’t know. I’ve never been hit by my own green shell.”

“That was one time!”

Adora was about to respond, but she was distracted by the vibration from her phone.

[From: Best Friends Squad 💕 ✨ 👑 ]

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Hey guys, let’s go ice skating!!!

<<What brought this on?

>>[Glimmer ✨] Someone just binged the entirety of Yuuri on Ice…

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] I watched it at a respectable pace

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] And this is unrelated, I just think ice skating is fun

<<Idk, seems cold and wet to me

“Hey, Earth to Adora! Are you racing again or not?” Catra demanded.

“Yeah, sorry, Bow’s just trying to convince me to go ice skating,” Adora shrugged, “Scorpia can race for me while I work out the details.”

“Are you sure? I’m not as good as you,” Scorpia pointed out as Adora handed her the controller.

“I don’t really care. I can just make up for it when I get back,” Adora shrugged before turning back to her phone.

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Wait, have you ever been ice skating?

<<No

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Then we have to go!!

>>[Glimmer ✨] You could invite Catra…

<<Ugh no, she’ll probably be busy with Scorpia

>>[Glimmer ✨] We could invite both of them!

<<Please no

<Scorpia’s over here like ALL THE TIME

<<It’s so annoying

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] But Scorpia’s cool

>>[Glimmer ✨] I thought you liked Scorpia???

<<Yeah I did before she started dating Catra

<<Now she’s getting on my nerves

>>[Glimmer ✨] I know you don’t want to hear this, but that sounds like jealousy to me

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] ^^ Especially because you actually liked Scorpia up until she was dating Catra

Adora frowned at her phone for a few moments. It’s true that she liked Scorpia well enough and she had only started being annoying since she started dating Catra. But that didn’t mean she was jealous or anything. It just meant that… well, Adora didn’t really know what it meant. Just like she didn’t know why things got so weirdly intense during laser tag. But there was no way it was jealousy. It just couldn’t be. There was obviously another explanation; one that she just didn’t know how to articulate yet.

<<I swear it’s not

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Have you tried telling Catra you want to spend more time just the two of you?

<<It’s kinda rude to ask someone to stop spending time with their girlfriend for you

>>[Glimmer ✨] But it’s obviously putting a strain on your relationship

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] And Catra really cares about you! I’m sure she’ll listen to your concerns.

<<Yeah, I guess I should probably talk to her

<<I hate it when you guys are right

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] And remember to ask her to come ice skating while you’re talking!!!

Adora rolled her eyes at her screen before shutting it off and turning back to the race. Which Scorpia was _winning?_ Adora looked to her friend, who was looking very calm in third place. She still had shells and everything, but she wasn’t using them. Was Catra _letting her win?_

Sure enough, when Scorpia finished the race in first place, Catra turned to the other girl and congratulated her with a warm hug. Adora had no choice but to look on in shock as Catra graciously accepted her loss.

“Do you want to go another round?” Catra asked her girlfriend. Adora could physically feel her heart plummeting as she thought of other situations in which Scorpia might have heard Catra say that phrase.

Scorpia shook her head, “Actually, I need to get back. Entrapta’s expecting me to help her cook dinner.”

“Well then you should hurry before she tries to start without you and burns your building down,” Catra joked, standing up with Scorpia and walking with her to the door. 

Adora remained stubbornly on the couch. She couldn’t hear the end of their conversation, but she assumed it consisted of a goodnight, a declaration of love (from Scorpia), an admittance of enjoyment (from Catra), and a kiss goodbye. She was glad she was missing it. The thought of them kissing still made her skin crawl.

Catra returned to the couch quicker than Adora expected, typing something on her phone before throwing it next to her on the couch. She picked up her controller as if nothing happened and then handed the other one to Adora. “Do you want to race again?”

Adora sighed. She should probably have this conversation now so she could get it over with. “Actually, I was hoping we could talk.”

Catra’s eyebrows shot up and she sat up straighter as if on the defensive, “About what?”

“About Scorpia?” Adora said, although it came out as more of a question. It was true that Scorpia was what was annoying Adora currently, but if it wasn’t Scorpia it would be someone else. Jealousy obviously wasn’t the word Adora would use, but resentment might be it. She resented how Scorpia was slowly taking Adora’s place as Catra’s person.

“Is that a question?” Catra asked, face betraying no emotion. She seemed unsurprised that Adora wanted to talk about this.

“No. I want to talk about Scorpia,” Adora gathered up her courage. It’s not like this was a confession or anything, “And how you’re spending all of your time with her.”

“Of course I’m spending a lot of my time with her, we’re close,” Catra pointed out, “And last I checked you aren’t in charge of what I do with my free time.”

“But you’re always with her! I get that you want to spend time with her, but what about _us?_ When do _we_ get to spend time together?”

“Adora… Are you jealous?” Catra’s face was a picture of concern.

“No! I’m not jealous!” Adora exclaimed a bit too passionately, “I just miss you as my friend! We never do anything together!”

“Hey! I don’t fourth wheel your Saturday brunches and game nights and drag myself to laser tag where the only person I know besides you is my date to be told we don’t do things together,” Catra argued, “And _you’re_ the one whose always cancelling plans to spend time with your team. If anything, _I’m_ the one who should be angry at Bow and Glimmer!”

“But that’s different!” Adora insisted.

“How? How is it any different, Adora?”

“Because!” _Because Bow and Glimmer will never replace you but Scorpia’s replacing me._

Catra leaned back and crossed her arms, “‘Because’ is not a valid argument. Use your words, _princess_.” Adora almost flinched at her nickname being used as an insult.

“Because you don’t have to be our fourth wheel! You can just be part of the group, but you refuse to spend more time with us than is strictly necessary. But I can’t _not_ third wheel you and Scorpia,” Adora did her best to explain.

There was a deafening silence as Catra stared at her, as if trying to read her facial expressions. Adora probably looked like a mess, but Catra had taken the whole conversation in stride. It was almost as if she had been expecting Adora to come into this conversation with emotional baggage.

“So what do you want me to do? Do you want me to leave my friends so I can spend more time with yours? So that _you’re_ not afraid of being left out?” Catra finally asked, her voice betraying a slight bitterness.

Adora shook her head frantically, “No, Catra, I would never ask you to do that! I just wish you would put more effort into being my friend instead of hiding behind Scorpia. Sometimes it feels like the only reason you talk to me is because we live together.”

“Well I wish that you would understand that meeting new people is hard for me! Do you seriously expect me to be all buddy-buddy with your new best friends from day one? It took me like a year to consider you a friend, and you’re the least threatening person I’ve ever met,” Catra argued, her posture changing from relaxed to defensive.

Adora pinched the bridge of her nose, “No, I don’t expect you to be best friends with them yet, but I do expect you to at least make an effort! It’s not my fault you don’t even come to my games, and I keep on inviting you to our team bonding events and you just don’t go.”

“But they don’t like me, Adora! They don’t want me there. They just tolerate me because I’m your friend,” Catra said, refusing to look Adora in the eyes. She suddenly looked small and vulnerable, which was a look Adora didn’t see often on Catra. Adora desperately wanted to pull the other girl into a hug and ease her fears, but she knew now was not the time.

“What makes you think that?” Adora asked. From what she had heard, Catra was fairly popular with her friends. Sure, she was no Scorpia, who was an instant hint when Perfuma brought her to a team party, but from what she could tell nobody disliked her. In fact, Bow and Glimmer were big fans.

Catra crossed her arms, still looking anywhere but Adora, “I just know.”

“Catra,” Adora prompted gently. The other girl wasn’t telling her something, and they both knew it.

Catra let out a frustrated groan, “Because nobody likes me, okay? You’re the only one. Everyone else thinks I’m weird or scary or stupid. You’re the only one who actually likes me.”

“That’s not true,” Adora insisted, “I know the people at Horde High were terrible, but it’s different here. You just need to let them in. Scorpia and Entrapta like you, right?”

“More like tolerate me,” Catra scoffed. She was basically shut down now, Adora realized. This happened every once and awhile when Catra started talking about something personal. She got stuck in a self-destructive spiral where she stubbornly refused to see other points of view. Adora had to do her best to get her out of the spiral.

“Okay, then what are you going to do about it?” Adora tried switching gears, “Remember how we became friends? My parents wouldn’t let me leave our front yard so you were the only kid I was allowed to play with. We used to play together every day, remember? You have to spend time with people so they get to know you. The real you.”

Catra finally turned to look at Adora, her eyes wide and glassy, “You think people would actually like me? For my personality?”

“Of course! You’re an amazing person,” Adora put her hand on Catra’s shoulder, which the other girl allowed, “You’re passionate and driven and insanely smart. And you’re funny and you have the best laugh and you make the best commentary during movies. There’s a lot to like.”

They sat there in silence for a few moments. Catra was obviously processing what Adora had said to her, which was a good sign. Once Catra actually started thinking critically about herself she usually arrived at a positive conclusion, or at least one that led to her growth. Adora had always admired her friend’s ability to commit to a personal change after she realized what she was doing wrong.

“So what do I do?” Catra asked, breaking the silence.

“I think we should compromise. I want you to try to spend more time with my teammates and actually try to get to know them. From the sound of it, you want me to make sure I take time to spend with you, too.”

Catra nodded, listening intently.

“Okay, so I’ll block off one night a week for us. Even if there’s a team thing, I’ll miss it. Unless it’s mandatory. And in return, you’re going to do your best to come to the team events I invite you to,” Adora decided. It sounded fair enough to her, and it meant that she would be able to spend more time with Catra.

Catra nodded, “Okay, it's a deal.”

\---

Adora had forgotten how cute Catra looked in winter clothes. Her friend had never been a fan of cold weather so she always bundled up when it got cold out. Like now, as snowflakes were gently falling to the ground, light enough to melt instead of congregate on the ground.

“What are you looking at?” Catra snapped as she shivered beside Adora. Her hands were stuffed in her pockets and her cheeks were rosy from the cold. Her messy ponytail whipped around in the cold wind, making her hair look fluffier and softer than usual. It made her warning glare lose any of the bite it might have once had.

“Nothing,” Adora laughed, “I just forgot how much you hate the cold.”

“Whatever. Let’s just find your friends so we can start skating. I’ll warm up once I start moving.”

Adora scanned the park for her friends. It was almost Christmas time, so the trees were lit with soft yellow lights and the street lamps were wrapped in garlands. Someone had strung fairy lights over the outdoor skating rink, filling the clearing with a warm glow.

“Adora! There you are!” Glimmer’s voice came from behind them.

“Glitter! Oh my god, don’t sneak up on me like that,” Catra complained, glaring at Adora’s friend as they turned around.

“Nice to see you too Catra,” Glimmer rolled her eyes, but didn’t seem offended.

“Yeah, glad you could make it,” Bow added with a smile.

“You’re lucky I don’t have anything due next week,” Catra said, despite having told Adora she had a Spanish essay due next week, “So I’m assuming this place has somewhere to rent skates?”

Bow nodded, “Yeah, we can rent them when we buy our tickets. Do you know how to skate?”

To Adora’s surprise, Catra nodded, “You bet your ass I do. It’s one of Entrapta’s favorite pastimes.”

“Really? I didn’t know you skated,” Adora asked. She supposed that was probably her own fault. Even though she lived with Catra now, she didn’t often talk to the other girl about what she did with her friends. Especially now that every conversation about Catra’s week devolved into her talking about whatever cute coupley thing she had done with Scorpia. As a result, even though they were getting better about spending time together, some weeks their conversations were limited to the logistics of living together and discussing whatever video game they were playing at the moment. They were still making up for lost time.

Catra shrugged, “I’m not like a professional or anything. I just know how to not fall.”

“Then you’ll have to help me. I’ve never been skating before,” Adora said. Everyone in their circle looked at her with strange expressions. Bow looked almost proud of Adora, as if her asking for help was some sort of accomplishment. Glimmer looked surprised, and her eyes were darting between Adora and Catra. Catra looked a little surprised too, but she was also giving Adora a happy, private smile.

“Less talking, more skating,” Glimmer said before walking over to the rink. The rest of their group followed behind her as they stepped up to the ticket counter. Bow and Glimmer went first, both renting skates for an hour on the ice. They stepped to the side to talk with a different attendant and make sure their skates fit.

“Hello, what can I do for you today?” The woman behind the counter turned to Adora and Catra with a smile.

“Hi, can I have two pairs of skates and two tickets for an hour please?” Adora asked.

“Adora! I can pay you know,” Catra said from beside her, looking a bit embarrassed that Adora was offering to pay for her.

“Think of it as a thank you for taking the time to get to know my friends,” Adora offered, smiling at her friend.

“Fine. But I’m going to find a way to pay you back,” Catra looked off to the side uncomfortably, and Adora could have sworn she blushed. Although, that could also be from the cold.

Adora shrugged as she turned back to the cashier to pay. After paying, they got colored wristbands and were led over to where Bow and Glimmer were lacing up their skates. 

Adora sat down to lack her skates, and when she stood up she wobbled and almost fell down again. Catra laughed next to her as she stood up perfectly on the first try. Show off.

“Here, hold on to my hand,” Catra offered, extending her hand, “That way if you fall I can catch you.”

Adora didn’t want to point out that if she fell she was most definitely heavy enough to take Catra with her. Instead, she put her hand in Catra’s gently, fighting the urge to entwine their fingers like they did as kids. For whatever reason, holding hands like that made Catra uncomfortable.

With Catra’s help, Adora was able to stumble her way over to the edge of the rink where Bow and Glimmer were already stepping onto the ice.

“Bow and I are going to go ahead. Someone needs to stop him from crashing into all the kids,” Glimmer said over her shoulder before skating over to Bow, who had already made his way to the center of the rink.

“You ready, Adora?” Catra asked.

“No not really,” Adora stared at the ice wearily. Despite being an athlete, her balance had never been the best. She was definitely going to fall a lot tonight.

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad,” Catra rolled her eyes as she dropped Adora’s hand and stepped out onto the ice. Graceful as always, she glided a few feet away before turning around and making her way back to where Adora was standing.

“I don’t want to fall,” Adora argued, looking at her friend skeptically.

Catra grabbed Adora’s wrist and yanked her right to the edge, where the ice met the ground, “Oh come on, quit being a baby. So what if you fall?”

Adora met Catra’s eyes. The other girl was looking at her with an encouraging expression, obviously willing her to just take that final step. Adora took a deep breath, and reminded herself that Catra was going to be right there to help her before stepping onto the ice.

“Woah,” Catra immediately grabbed onto Adora’s forearm to stabilize Adora as she lost her balance and nearly fell, “Okay, I know I said I would catch you when you fell, but you do need to at least try to balance.”

“I _am_ trying,” Adora huffed, staring at her feet as if willing them to not slide out from underneath her. After a few moments of concentration, she felt comfortable enough to look up at Catra, who was staring at her with an amused expression. And _oh, she was close_. When Catra had kept her from falling, she had pulled Adora closer to her. Which was great, but now they were close enough for Adora to see her pupils dilating and contracting to bring Adora into focus.

They stayed like that for a few moments, Adora unable to look away from her friend’s eyes. Catra had always been embarrassed by her heterochromia, so she never let Adora get a good look at her eyes. But they were so beautiful. Her left eye striking and almost turquoise, while her right eye was a light brown that bordered on gold. If it wasn’t so cliche, Adora would compare them to gemstones or some sort of natural phenomena.

“So, do you want to stand here all night, or do you want to try to move?” Catra broke the tense silence as she broke eye contact to look across the rink. Adora would rather spend her time memorizing the patterns in her friend’s eyes, but that wasn’t really an option. Also, she had paid to go ice skating, so she might as well learn how to skate.

Adora nodded, giving her friend a shaky smile. Catra dropped her grip on one of Adora’s arms, but let her other hand slip into Adora’s hand.

“Okay, try to move forward,” Catra instructed before pushing off on her skates. Adora clumsily mirrored Catra’s movement, causing the two of them to slowly glide forward a few feet before coming to an awkward stop.

“Hey! I did it,” Adora cheered. Ice skating was pretty fun.

Catra shook her head, “You went forward like three feet, idiot. The trick is to keep on pushing off your skates instead of stopping and gliding.”

To demonstrate, Catra dropped Adora’s hand and skated in a graceful circle around her friend. Adora watched the way her friend’s body moved, admiring the strength with which her legs pushed off the ice and the effortless way she held her body.

“See?” Catra asked with a smug look on her face as she came to a stop in front of Adora. Adora blinked at her dumbly, forgetting why exactly she was supposed to be watching Catra. _Oh right, learning how to skate._

“Yeah, I think I got it,” Adora proclaimed boldly before trying to skate forward on her own. But she put too much power in her first step and not enough in the second step, causing her to fall off balance and fall clumsily on the ice.

“Oh my God, Adora! You need to be careful,” Catra laughed as she skated over to Adora, extending a hand to help her up. Adora took it gratefully, this time entwining their fingers. She didn’t want Catra to let go; she needed Catra to help her master this.

“Here, let’s try going slow. Just use me to help you balance and for the love of God try to focus on not falling,” Catra instructed. If she was uncomfortable with their hand holding, she didn’t show it. Instead, she gave Adora an encouraging smile and began skating forward, much slower than she was skating earlier. Adora hesitantly pushed on her skates to keep up with Catra.

It was easier with Catra there to help support her. Catra was much stronger than she let on, so when Adora felt herself wobbling she could push or pull on Catra and the other girl would support both of them. They soon fell into a comfortable rhythm of pushing off of their skates and gliding across the ice. It was so peaceful that Adora allowed her mind to wander from her skating to the feeling of her fingers entwined with Catra’s.

The last time they had held hands like this was in middle school. Adora still remembered holding hands with Catra on the way to class in seventh grade, talking about the gay penguins they had just learned about in their biology class. Adora wished she remembered more, but at the time she had no idea it would be the last time they laced their fingers together like that. Logically, she knew that something happened for Catra to become uncomfortable with it, but she didn’t know what.

Catra’s hands were smaller than Adora’s--a fact that made Adora happy even though she was unsure why--and she was wearing gloves. However, the gloves were fairly thin and Adora could feel the body heat radiating off of the other girl. Catra had always run warm whereas Adora’s hands were usually colder. Adora found herself wishing she could hold hands with Catra until their hands reached the same temperature.

Adora was so distracted by the feeling of Catra’s hand in her own that she didn’t realize she was off balance until it was too late. Suddenly, she was falling down. In an attempt to rescue herself, she yanked on Catra’s hand, but the other girl wasn’t prepared for the suddenness with which Adora was plummeting to the ground and started falling too. In an instant, Adora was splayed out on her back on the ice and Catra was on top of her.

 _Catra is on top of me,_ Adora’s brain realized. Her friend was perched on top of her, her legs straddling Adora’s waist. The weight of Catra’s body pressed down on her, keeping her effectively pinned to the ice. Above her, Catra stared down at her in shock, with her hands braced on either side of Adora’s face. Adora could hear her heartbeat in her ears, frantically getting faster the longer she remained underneath Catra.

Catra’s face was really close. Closer than she was last time she saved Adora from falling. Close enough that if Adora were to lean up even the slightest bit, their foreheads would collide. Adora watched Catra’s eyes lower their gaze from Adora’s eyes to her lips, and Adora felt a jolt of something hot deep within her stomach. _Maybe if I sat up, a different part of our faces would collide,_ Adora thought before scolding herself for thinking something so stupid.

Experimentally, Adora decided to look down at her friend’s lips. They were a darker pink and slightly parted, as if inviting Adora to do something. To do _what_ Adora wasn’t quite sure, but she had one terrifyingly dangerous idea. The heat inside her increased in intensity as she realized how close she was to kissing her best friend. Deciding that looking at her friend’s lips was dangerous, she looked back at her friend’s eyes, which were wide in a combination of surprise and fear. It was almost as if Catra had no idea what to do.

Adora needed to do _something_ to ease the tension. She could hear Catra’s breathing from above her, quick and shallow, as if anticipating something. Adora was anticipating it too. She didn’t know what kissing someone felt like, but she could almost see it in her mind’s eye. _No, I can’t kiss Catra right now. That would just make this whole mess more complicated,_ Adora coached herself. As much as she wanted to know what Catra’s lips would feel like against her own, as soft and warm and inviting as the other girl looked right now, Adora couldn’t add more emotions to their already complex relationship. Especially not when her friend was gay and she was… whatever she was.

Instead, Adora settled for tucking a strand of hair that had fallen from Catra’s ponytail behind her ear. Catra leaned into Adora’s touch as Adora’s fingers skimmed over the back of her ear lightly. Even that small point of contact was threatening to burn Adora’s fingers. Why was everything so _hot?_

Suddenly, the sound of a camera came from somewhere nearby. Catra jolted upright in surprise, now sitting on Adora’s hips as she towered over her. Adora found that this new position was doing nothing to quiet the heat in her abdomen. If anything, it was intensifying it. It felt simultaneously uncomfortable and right.

“Bow! I can’t believe you had the sound on. What kind of teenager are you?” Glimmer asked in exasperation. Beside her, Bow was holding his phone up sheepishly, having obviously captured their moment on camera.

“I’m going to start counting. If that picture isn’t deleted by the time I reach three, we’re going to have some problems,” Catra warned, her voice measured and overly calm. 

“Nooo! Don’t make me delete it! It’s so cute,” Bow protested, frantically tapping on his phone’s screen. Adora had no idea what he was doing, but it was definitely not deleting the picture.

“One,” Catra started, slowly detangling herself from Adora. Adora felt a strange sense of loss as the weight and heat from Catra’s body pulled away. She had to fight the urge to pull Catra back on top of her.

“Seriously, it’s not that bad Catra,” Glimmer argued when she realized Catra was serious.

“Two,” Catra continued, now standing to her full height. Adora sat up and started trying to scramble to her feet. She would have asked Catra for help, but the other girl was currently in a staring contest with Bow and she didn’t want to mess that up.

“Three,” Catra said after a beat of silence before launching herself at Bow. Fortunately, Bow reacted quickly and skated away, forcing Catra to chase him. Adora and Glimmer had no choice but to watch as Catra and Bow raced laps around the rink at breakneck speed, nearly crashing into the other skaters.

“So Adora,” Glimmer said, skating over to where Adora was clinging to the wall for dear life.

Adora sighed, “Yes, Glimmer?”

“What do you think would have happened if Bow had muted his phone and you two weren’t interrupted?” Glimmer asked, looking at Adora with interest.

“Nothing. I would have finished getting her hair out of her face and then we would have stood up and gone back to skating.”

“Oh really?” Glimmer raised an eyebrow and sounded unconvinced, “Because Catra was leaning in, Adora. And you were letting her.”

Adora wrinkled her face in disbelief, “What? No she wasn’t!”

“Yes she was,” Glimmer insisted, “I saw it myself.”

“Glimmer, I think I would have noticed if Catra was leaning in for a kiss. I was literally right there,” Adora pointed out. Sure, she was close to Catra. And yeah, she was definitely thinking about it. And okay, Catra was definitely thinking about it too, judging by where she was looking. But actually leaning in? Actually acting on those fleeting feelings of curiosity they obviously both had about each other? Adora would have noticed that. Not that it would have happened.

Glimmer shook her head and pulled out her phone, “Adora, you have to look at the picture.”

Then Glimmer handed her the phone and Adora was confronted with a picture of her and Catra. Catra was sprawled on top of Adora, with her legs bracketing Adora’s hips and her arms framing Adora’s face. Adora’s hand was behind Catra’s ear, cupping the side of her face lightly. Just like Adora remembered. But their faces were close. Much too close. There were mere centimeters between their lips. And both of them were staring at the other’s lips with a look that could only be described as _desire._

“Care to change your story?” Glimmer asked smugly as Adora gaped at the picture.

“How did you even get this?” Adora deflected, still trying to wrap her head around what she was seeing.

“Bow sent it in our group chat. Even if Catra manages to get him to delete it, we both have access to it.”

The last thing Adora wanted was regular access to this picture. It raised so many questions: Would they have kissed? Did Adora want to kiss Catra? Did Catra want to kiss Adora? Was this some heat of the moment thing, or did it mean more?

“Adora, it’s okay,” Glimmer put her hand on Adora’s shoulder reassuringly, “I know your emotions regarding Catra are really mixed up right now. But you have to admit that it looks like you two are about to start making out.”

“We’re not,” Adora said firmly, “I’m not into women and Catra’s with Scorpia. I’m not Catra’s type and Catra isn’t the right gender. It’s just a fluke. We were just curious about what would happen if we did kiss, that’s all.”

Beside her, Glimmer sighed, “Adora, it’s okay to be attracted to Catra. Nobody’s going to fault you for it.”

“But I’m not. Catra is my friend and that’s it. I was just wondering what kissing someone would feel like, and she was there. I’m not attracted to her. Honestly, I’m not sure if I’ve been attracted to anyone.”

Glimmer nodded in consideration, “Well if you’ve never been attracted to anyone before, how can you say with certainty you’re not attracted to Catra?”

Glimmer made a good point. How did anyone know when they were attracted to someone? Was attraction the sound of her heartbeat and the slow build of heat inside her? Was it the way she wanted to smile every time Catra laughed and the way her eyes always settled on Catra whenever they were in the room together? Was it the burst of pride she felt whenever Catra complimented her and the joy she felt whenever Catra agreed to spend time with her?

Surely not. Those were all things people experienced with their friends. Adora had felt those things around Catra for as long as she could remember, and from what she could gather Catra did too. It was normal for friends to be drawn together like that. It’s what made them friends.

“I don’t know, Glimmer. But what I feel for Catra is purely platonic,” Adora insisted, feeling a little less sure of that statement than she had felt yesterday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My note on my original outline for this fic was literally just "Chapter 9: Ice Skating. tHEY FALL ON TOP OF EACH OTHER" with no other context/plot points.
> 
> Please be gentle with Adora, figuring out what the fuck attraction is is so hard, especially when you don't experience it that often. It's so stupid in hindsight but in the moment it's so confusing.
> 
> For anyone wondering what the event was that made Catra not want to hold Adora's hand anymore, basically she learned that being gay was a thing in their biology class which caused her to realize she had a crush on Adora. She ends up processing those emotions while simultaneously realizing that her parents think being gay is a sin which leads to her original fears of being predatory and making Adora uncomfortable.
> 
> Again, thanks for reading! The next chapter will be up sometime next weekend (probably Saturday but there's a possibility it will be Sunday).


	10. Amusement Park

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to everyone who asked me if Scorpia was going to be okay; thank you for looking out for this ray of sunshine :)

[From: Operation Catradora!!! 💏 💓 😻 ]

>>[Arrow] So like do you want that picture

>>[Arrow] Cuz I still have it 👀

<<Why do you do this to me

>>[Arrow] Is that a no?

<<Ugh just send it

[Arrow shared a picture!]

Catra looked at the picture that Bow had taken the night before. It was so much worse than she could have imagined. The sexual tension that had filled the moment saturated the picture, apparent in every inch of Catra’s body language and shining in Adora’s eyes. They were mere _inches_ away from kissing, and Catra was certain if Bow hadn’t interrupted that moment they would have. Adora was literally tilting her head for God’s sake.

>>[Arrow] You two really were about to kiss weren’t you?

<<Yeah definitely

<<So thanks for interrupting that

>>[Arrow] Maybe it was for the best

>>[Arrow] As far as I can tell, Adora’s still in denial. Kissing might have just made things worse

>>[Sparkles] ^^ I’m with Bow

<<Ofc you are

>>[Sparkles] Also I think the Scorpia plan backfired

>>[Sparkles] Now Adora’s refusing to believe you’re attracted to her bc of Scorpia

>>[Sparkles] Which in hindsight is fair

<<Well hindsight is 20/20 or whatever

<<Anyways I’ll fix it dw

Catra looked up from her phone and over to Adora, who was cooking dinner for them in the kitchen. Which would have been cute and domestic except for the fact that Adora was a horrible cook so she was just making box mac and cheese. It was the thought that counts.

“Hey, Adora,” Catra called from the couch. Adora still owed her time for _them_ this week, whatever that meant, and she planned on collecting. And forcing Adora to meet her friends, who she liked more than she cared to admit.

“What?” Adora yelled back, looking up from the macaroni box she was reading intently.

“When are we hanging this week?”

Adora pulled up her phone, “Um, I think Friday night works best for me? Does that work for you?”

Catra had D&D on Friday nights, but she could probably move that. After all, spending more time together was going to be a group effort, which meant Catra had to pull her weight.

“Yeah, that should work,” Catra confirmed, “Do you wanna go to Whispering Woods?”

Whispering Woods was the local fairytale-themed amusement park. Catra had been once with Scorpia and Entrapta last year, and it had been fun. There were rollercoasters and arcades and even a cute boardwalk area. It seemed like somewhere Adora, a competitive adrenaline junky like Catra, would enjoy.

“Oh, I’ve actually never been! Sounds fun,” Adora smiled at Catra excitedly.

“Great!” Catra smiled back, “Do you mind if I invite some of my friends?” Catra knew her friends would be upset about moving D&D, but inviting them to come to Whispering Woods with them would soften the blow. And Adora really needed to put more effort into getting to know her friends.

Adora’s smile faltered for a split second before returning to its original intensity, “No, I don’t mind. I’d love to spend time with your friends!”

 _Interesting,_ Catra thought to herself, _it’s almost as if she wanted to spend time just the two of us. Is she jealous of my friends? Or did she want to go on a date?_ Knowing she would have plenty of time to overthink Adora’s reaction later that night, Catra decided to distract herself by texting her friends.

[To: 💜 🤖 Super Pal Trio 😸 👯 ]

<<So how do we feel about going to Whispering Woods Friday night

>>[Scorpion] !!!!

>>[Scorpion] That sounds like so much fun

>>[Nerd] Aren’t we planning on playing D&D on Friday?

<<We can move that to Saturday

<<Adora’s only free on Friday

<<And didn’t Lonnie say something about being busy this Friday anyways?

>>[Nerd] Adora’s coming??

>>[Nerd] I thought you two were fighting…

>>[Scorpion] They’re not fighting, I think they’re flirting?

<<No we’re not

>>[Nerd] To which one?

<<Fighting. We are flirting

<<Or at least, I am…

>>[Nerd] Did Adora reject you?

>>[Nerd] You have seemed a little upset recently

<<No she didn’t reject me!

<<And I have NOT been upset recently

>>[Scorpion] I think she’s upset about the orgo midterm

>>[Scorpion] The curve on that thing was brutal

<<No I’m not upset about anything

<<And I got a good grade on that test so idk what you’re talking about

>>[Nerd] Are you upset because you’re single?

<<Wtf Trapta why are you coming for me rn

<<Just let me be lonely in peace no need to rub it in

>>[Scorpion] You’re not alone! You have us 💗 💖 💕

<<SO

<<WHISPERING WOODS

<<FRIDAY

<<YES OR NO

>>[Nerd] Yes if Scorpia can bring Perfuma

<<Why do you care if Perfuma comes?

>>[Nerd] Because I want Scorpia to be happy

>>[Scorpion] Idk if bringing Perfuma is a great idea if I’m fake dating Catra

>>[Scorpion] Although I’m like 94% sure she already knows its fake

<<Oh yea about that

<<We don’t have to do that anymore

>>[Scorpion] Why???

>>[Scorpion] OMG are you guys getting together!!!!!

>>[Scorpion] Catra I’m sooooooo excited for you

<<I literally just said I was single

<<I just think it served its purpose and now things would be better if I was single

>>[Scorpion] If you say so.

>>[Scorpion] Tbh I don't get why we were doing it in the first place, but if you think it worked I’m glad

<<Im sorry for using you to get closer to Adora

<<And sorry if it made things weird between you and Perfuma…

>>[Scorpion] Dont worry abt it, things w me and Perfuma are still going well 😍😚

>>[Nerd] So then Perfuma is coming?

<<Sure, if she’s free

<<Which she probably will be cuz Adora’s free

>>[Scorpion] Awesome! I’ll ask her 😊

<<Go get her

>>[Scorpion] You too wildcat

\---

The more Catra thought about telling Adora her and Scorpia weren’t dating, the more she realized what a bad idea the whole plan had been. Her friend was going to be angry, that’s for sure. And Catra couldn’t blame her. She had lied and manipulated her to make her feel jealous. This whole situation wasn’t exactly a win for Catra. Although, to be fair, Catra had made her plan before she realized Adora wanted a healthy relationship. And Bow and Glimmer had totally told her to go through with it.

“Adora, I need to tell you something,” Catra said. It was Monday, so there was still enough time for Adora to back out of going to Whispering Woods if they had a falling out.

Adora looked at her with eyes wide in fear, “Tell me what?”

“It’s not bad so relax,” Catra reassured her, although it was kind of bad, “It’s just about Scorpia.”

“What about Scorpia?” Adora asked, visibly tensing.

“Well Scorpia and I were never really dating,” Catra sighed, “We were just pretending to date to see everybody’s reactions.” _To see your reaction._

“What? Catra, you _lied_ to me?” Adora demanded as she crossed her arms.

Catra winced. Adora was definitely angry. “Technically I never said we were dating. We just held hands in front of you and you jumped to your own conclusions.”

“Well you let me jump!” Adora exclaimed, “Why didn’t you correct me?”

“Because I liked seeing your reaction!” Catra yelled, unsure what else to say.

There was a pause as Adora stared at her, shocked. Catra stood there, terrified that this would be the last straw for Adora. That Catra had just ruined years of friendship with a half thought out plan that in hindsight was fucking stupid.

“We’re supposed to be friends, Catra. Friends tell each other about what’s happening in their lives. How can I be your friend if you won’t even trust me enough to tell me about your relationships?” Adora asked, sounding almost sad. Almost as if it was her fault. Which it wasn’t.

“Adora… I’m--” Catra took a deep breath. She hated admitting she was wrong. “--I’m sorry, okay? It was a stupid decision and I shouldn’t have done it and I see that now. But I really didn’t do it because I didn’t trust you. I was just trying to get a reaction out of you.”

“Is there anything else you’re lying about, Catra?” Adora asked wearily.

Catra shook her head frantically, “No, I promise. I really do trust you, Adora. I want to be a good friend, but I got carried away, okay? The truth is, I’m jealous of your new friends so I wanted to see if I could make you feel the same way.” Catra patted herself on the back. That actually was almost the whole truth. She was barely even lying.

Adora’s eyes widened, “Catra, we’ve been over this. You don’t need to be jealous of them.”

“I know we talked about it!” Catra snapped before taking another breath to calm herself, “I know. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t jealous or that I’m not now. Just saying I still mean as much to you as they do doesn’t make it true.”

Oh shit, Catra was on the verge of tears. She was not about to cry in front of Adora during the middle of her own apology. If anything, Adora should be the one crying. She was the one who had been wronged. But the other girl was looking at her with sympathy, and stepping in to wrap her into a hug. A warm, secure hug. That Catra might never feel again after this moment. Oh, she was definitely crying now.

“I get it if you don’t want to be friends anymore,” Catra sobbed. How embarrassing. “But I really am sorry, Adora. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.”

Adora didn’t respond immediately. Instead she stood there, holding Catra in her arms and rubbing circles on her upper back with her hands. It reminded Catra of when Adora would soothe her after she got bullied in school. She cried harder at the memory, remembering how Adora was the only person she felt safe with. Sure, she felt comfortable with Scorpia and Entrapta, but Adora was her safe space.

“Catra, it’s okay, I forgive you,” Adora finally said, breaking the silence, “But I need you to promise to be honest with me from now on, okay? No trying to make me jealous and no hiding from me that you’re jealous. We need to tell each other everything, like when we were kids.”

 _Oh, Adora, you’re not ready for that now. If I told you everything you would leave._ “Okay.”

\---

The rest of the week passed without consequence, except for the three heart-to-hearts Catra had with Scorpia that began with an apology but somehow spiralled into a discussion about her abandonment issues. Catra really needed therapy, but being friends with a psychology major was the next best thing. And it’s not like she had the time or money for an actual therapist.

Things were a little awkward between Catra and Adora for a few days after their conversation, but by the time Friday rolled around, Adora seemed to have actually forgiven Catra. Which almost hurt Catra more than if Adora had stayed mad at her. How could her friend still trust her after the way she had treated her?

So Catra was determined to make it up to Adora by giving her the best time at Whispering Woods she could. She made plan after plan on what rides to go on in what order, when to hit the boardwalk, and where they should eat. And then she threw them all out because Adora would much rather wander. Which was going to drive Catra insane but she was going to let Adora do what she wanted to do.

So here Catra was, walking to the subway station with Adora, ready to go to an amusement park with no plan. Hopefully the park wouldn’t be too crowded so they wouldn’t get caught in too many lines.

Despite being December, it was actually fairly warm out--thanks, global warming--so Catra was comfortable in her leggings and oversized sweatshirt. Beside her, Adora was looking absolutely amazing in mom jeans and her letterman jacket from Horde High.

Adora was explaining how, now that she was majoring in linguistics, she didn’t have to worry about her economics final. Catra was happy for the other girl; that class had been completely miserable for her, especially because she was only taking it for her parents. Catra looked forward to seeing Adora study something she actually enjoyed next semester.

“Are you even gonna show up for the final?” Catra asked. She happened to know that the economics final was on the same day as BMU’s end of semester formal. Adora might choose to skip the final to get ready for the dance instead.

“Yeah, of course! Why wouldn’t I?”

“Oh, I just figured you’d want to spend that time getting ready for the formal,” Catra shrugged. She was pretty sure the frat that was putting on the formal this year was donating the money raised to some of the school’s sports teams, so Adora surely had plans to go.

Adora shook her head, “I don’t think I’m going to go to the formal this year.”

“Why not? That seems like something your jock friends would be all over.”

“Oh yeah, everyone else is going. But they all have dates and I don’t want to be the odd one out,” Adora explained.

Catra had a brilliant idea. One that could propel Operation: Catradora (which, for the record, was a stupid name) forward quite a few steps. “I could be your date, if you wanted.”

Adora looked at her with surprise, “Really? You hate dances.”

“I’d be okay if I was with you,” Catra said with a wink. It was true that she hated dances, but she wanted to spend more time with Adora. Plus, she had just bought a suit with Scorpia and Entrapta that she really wanted Adora to see her in.

“Okay then, sounds like a plan,” Adora smiled weakly, seemingly taken aback by Catra’s wink. It was cute how easily she could be taken off guard.

“There they are! Hey guys, over here!” Scorpia’s voice prevented Catra from continuing the conversation. The pair turned to see Scorpia and Perfuma standing hand-in-hand waving to them while Entrapta stared at her phone next to them. Catra felt bad when she realized that Entrapta would essentially be fifth wheeling them, but she doubted the other girl minded. She was really only there for the arcade in the first place.

“Hey, everyone!” Adora called back, much nicer now that she knew Scorpia wasn’t dating Catra.

“Oh, Catra!” Entrapta looked up from her phone, “Did you know that Etheria is one of the tallest rollercoasters in the world? It’s 420 feet tall.”

Catra had researched the park a little too much, so she did know that. She laughed anyways, “Nice, ‘Trapta.”

“Catra,” Adora scolded from beside her. In response, Catra stuck her tongue out.

“Anyways, let’s get on the train! It’s supposed to leave in two minutes,” Perfuma said, always quick to resolve any conflicts before they began.

The train ride there passed without much consequence. Perfuma and Adora explained the mechanics of field hockey to Entrapta, who was fascinated. Catra was pretty sure she heard her calling team sports a “social experiment large enough to rival parties.”

It wasn’t until they reached the gate of the park that things got awkward. Because as much as Catra loved Scorpia, she didn’t necessarily want to spend the day watching her and Perfuma make eyes at each other. And she was pretty sure Scorpia didn’t want Catra and Adora’s glaring sexual tension interrupting their eye making.

“So where to first?” Entrapta asked as the rest of the group stared at each other, blissfully unaware of the awkward situation they found themselves in.

“Oh, I think Perfuma and I were planning on going on the overhead gondolas. You are all, of course, welcome to join us,” Scorpia said, making a face to Catra that very clearly said _for the love of God please don’t come with us._

“Nah that sounds lame,” Catra made a dismissive motion with her hand, “Feel free to go on without us. We’ll meet up later.”

Perfuma smiled sweetly and said, “Of course! Have fun!” as Scorpia mouthed _thank you_ very dramatically to Catra. With that, the couple left, hand-in-hand. Catra wondered if they were dating or if normal people could just hold hands without going through years of emotional baggage. Probably both.

“So, Entrapta,” Adora turned to the purple haired girl, “What do you want to do?”

Entrapta shrugged, not looking up from her phone, “Oh well if we’re all splitting up I’ll probably spend the day in the arcade. I have some high scores to protect. Don’t let me get in the way of your date.”

Adora sputtered and blushed as Catra glared at Entrapta, “It’s not a date.”

“If you say so,” Entrapta held her hands up as if in surrender, “Anyways, I’m going to leave now. Have fun not dating.”

With that, Entrapta walked away, leaving Catra and Adora alone. There was a tense silence, as both of them looked at each other blankly. Neither wanted to make the first move.

“Sooo,” Adora said in her “smooth” voice. Catra mentally face palmed, “You have a plan, right?”

“Sorry to disappoint, princess, but I don’t,” Catra smiled at her friend. Could she piece together a pretty kickass plan from what she could remember learning in her research? Absolutely. Was she going to miss this opportunity to catch Adora off guard? Not a chance.

“Really? You always have a plan,” Adora grumbled.

Catra smirked, “Careful, Adora. If I didn’t know better, I would think you missed my planning.”

“Not a chance,” Adora crossed her arms as she smiled back at Catra, “Seriously, though, what do you want to do? We can’t just stand here forever.”

“I want to do whatever you want to do,” Catra offered, “Today’s all about you.”

“Okay then. It’s like three right now right? Isn’t that when the park’s at its busiest?” Adora asked.

The park was slightly busier at two. Catra decided not to split hairs. “You guessed it.”

Adora looked directly at Catra. “Okay then, I want to go on Etheria.”

Catra did her best to keep her face neutral. Etheria was the park’s biggest roller coaster. If they wanted in line for it now, it would probably take at least an hour. Which was the last thing she wanted to do when they could just wait to go until closer to closing and cut the wait time in half.

“Whatever you want, princess.” Catra said through clenched teeth as she plastered on a false smile.

“Great! Let’s go,” Adora smiled back, obviously aware of what she was doing, before walking away. In the wrong direction. Catra sighed as she followed her friend’s lead. Maybe by the time they found Etheria the line would die down.

Three missed signposts and five wrong turns later and Catra was about ready to give in and grab a map and navigate them to the stupid ride. At least Adora seemed to have fun taking in their surroundings. Which, yet again, included a fourth very obviously placed sign for Etheria that Adora blatantly walked past.

Ten minutes of walking in circles after that and Catra could see the ride's entry, lit up like a beacon of hope and marked with a giant sign with the word "Etheria" painted in pastels with drawings of woodland creatures on the border. And, much to Catra’s dismay, the sign next to it that said the wait time was 60 minutes.

At least it was with Adora. If Catra had to choose one person to be trapped standing in line next to a bunch of strangers with, it would be her. They easily filled the time playing 20 questions and would you rather.

“Okay, so would you rather be beautiful and stupid or intelligent and ugly?” Adora read from a list on her phone. Catra rolled her eyes.

“Well this is going to be an easy one for you,” Catra said with a laugh.

Adora cocked her head to the side, “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re already beautiful and stupid. So, like, nothing would change,” Catra argued

“You think I’m beautiful?” Adora asked with a radiant smile, obviously flattered.

“Yeah, stupid,” Catra rolled her eyes and shoved Adora playfully in the side, “Of course I do.”

The gates in front of them opened and Adora started to step on the ride.

“Excuse me,” the man standing behind them in line piped up. Catra turned to look at him expectantly, “I just wanted to say that what you’re doing is so brave.”

Catra stared at him in shock. Did they seriously look like that much of a couple? And did they look like they needed his stupid validation? He was lucky she was literally getting on a rollercoaster right now, or she would have definitely picked a fight. “Thanks.”

Catra turned around and sat down next to Adora. They strapped themselves in and waited for the employee to come over to check them.

“Why did that man say that? He’s going on the rollercoaster too, it’s not like we’re special,” Adora asked, clueless as ever.

Catra remembered reading about morosexuality online. She was pretty sure it was a joke, but now she was having serious doubts. How could one person be so oblivious? How could she be so attracted to someone that oblivious?

“I don’t know, Adora. Some people are just weird.”

\---

After riding a few more roller coasters, Catra and Adora decided to meet up with Perfuma and Scorpia on the boardwalk.

“Adora! Catra! Look at this teddy bear Scorpia won for me at the high striker!” Perfuma greeted, holding a ridiculously oversized teddy bear. Beside her, Scorpia was smiling sheepishly, as if embarrassed by Perfuma’s bragging.

“Oh that? That was nothing. The game’s designed for you to win!” Scorpia laughed.

“Actually, it’s the opposite. It’s rigged so you lose,” Catra pointed out. She looked over to the game, where the tower was lit up with obnoxiously tacky lights and the attendant was offering a large hammer to passerby. Surrounding her was an assortment of stuffed animals, ranging from bears to frogs to cats. Actually, that giant purple cat was kind of cute. Catra wondered if Adora would win it for her.

“What? No way! I’m sure everything here is completely fair,” Scorpia argued.

“Yeah, and Adora’s the strongest person on the field hockey team,” Catra drawled sarcastically.

“Hey! I definitely am,” Adora argued, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Not that there’s a contest or anything. We all have our own types of strength,” Perfuma beamed from Scorpia’s side.

“Yeah, but I’m the strongest,” Adora insisted.

“If you say so,” Catra smirked at her, “Let’s go grab some cotton candy.”

Adora lit up and they wandered around the boardwalk in search of cotton candy. Turns out, cotton candy was harder to find than they initially expected, and they ended up having to turn around. Which was perfect for Catra, because their path led them back past the high striker.

“Oh, that cat’s super cute,” Catra noted casually, “Too bad I’m not strong enough to win it. It looks like it’s the grand prize.”

Adora stopped and turned to consider the game. “You know, I bet I could win that for you.”

“You think so, princess?” Catra taunted. Adora was so predictable.

“Um, I know so. Here, hold my jacket,” Adora said before shrugging off her jacket and handing it to Catra. Catra grabbed it absentmindedly, distracted by how good the other girl looked in her tight, athletic undershirt. Why did she have to be so hot?

“Excuse me, I’d like to try,” Adora announced, walking up to the person who manned the booth. She handed them some money and they opened the gate surrounding the game to let Adora in before handing her the hammer.

Adora turned around to stare at Catra before winking, “Watch this.”

As if Catra could look away. Catra had no choice but to watch in awe as the other girl raised the hammer above her head, flexing the muscles in her arms and back. Then she stepped forward, stance strong, and brought the hammer down. Catra’s mouth fell open as Adora followed her swing through with her powerful legs. The light in the meter crawled up and up and up at the impact, eventually reaching the top. Lights started flashing and the machine made some god awful ringing sound to signify her victory.

Adora turned around and began sauntering toward Catra, with a smug smile on her face. Her shirt left nothing to the imagination, and Catra found herself staring at those toned arms. Toned arms that she now knew were exactly as strong as they appeared.

“Told you I could do it,” The other girl smirked, crossing her arms and propping them against the gate confidently.

Catra swallowed, desperately trying to bring some moisture back to her dry mouth. “I never doubted you for a moment, princess.” She turned to the employee. “Hey, I’d like the big purple cat, please.”

“Sure thing,” The attendant said before walking away to grab Catra’s prize. She returned with the cat in her arms and handed it to Catra. “You know, you two are so cute. You remind me of my girlfriend and I when we first started dating.”

Catra grabbed the stuffed animal and opened her mouth to correct her, but Adora spoke first. “Thanks! Have a nice day!”

Catra stared at her in confusion as Adora opened the gate and walked back over to Catra, holding her hand out for something. Catra stared at her blankly for a few moments before she remembered that she was still holding the other girl’s jacket.

“So what are you going to name it?” Adora asked after an awkward silence. Okay, so they just weren’t going to talk about the whole ‘implying that they were a couple’ thing, then.

“Oh. Well, I was thinking Melog,” Catra said, still in shock.

“That’s a cute name,” Adora smiled back at her.

“A cute name to honor the cute girl who won her for me,” Catra replied easily. Adora blushed and looked away, obviously unsure how to respond. Which was strange, considering she definitely just let that random woman think they were a couple.

They did end up finding a place to buy cotton candy down by the Ferris Wheel at the other end of the boardwalk. They found Entrapta there too, tinkering with a windup toy she won in the arcade. Apparently, she was waiting for Scorpia and Perfuma to come off of the Ferris Wheel.

They had just finished paying for their bright pink bag of diabetes when Scorpia and Perfuma walked off of the ride, hand in hand and blushing fiercely.

“Adora!” Perfuma lit up at the sight of her friend, who was currently placing pieces of cotton candy in Catra’s mouth because Catra refused to let go of Melog. And because it was funny how easily Catra got her to agree to do it. “You’ll never guess what just happened!”

 _Oh, they definitely confessed their feelings on the top of the Ferris Wheel and then kissed like in those stupid romcoms,_ Catra guessed. Scorpia was a romantic like that.

“What’s up, Perfuma?” Adora asked, clearly excited for whatever news the other girl had.

“We’re dating!” Scorpia announced excitedly, wrapping her arm around Perfuma’s shoulders and pulling the other girl flush against her side.

“Seriously? That’s awesome!” Adora congratulated them with a genuine smile.

“Who asked who?” Entrapta asked with an encouraging smile.

Perfuma beamed up at Scorpia as she wrapped her arm around Scorpia’s waist “It was so adorable! Scorpia confessed on top of the Ferris Wheel! It was like a dream come true.”

 _Called it._ “Congrats, you two. I’m glad to see Scorpia finally got her act together,” Catra smiled at her friend. She was happy for the other girl. Scorpia was always supportive of Catra, even when Catra was an asshole to her. She really deserved to be happy.

“Hey, we should celebrate!” Adora suggested, “Do you guys wanna come back to our place for drinks or something?”

Scorpia smiled, “That. Sounds. Perfect. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate!”

“You guys have alcohol?” Perfuma asked, looking at Adora in confusion. It was strange for Adora to suggest drinks as the other girl didn’t drink all that much. Catra, on the other hand, was a big fan of drunk D&D, so she kept them well stocked.

“Oh yeah. We have a handle of Strawberry Lemonade Svedka,” Catra nodded. Having a fake came in handy sometimes.

Entrapta made a face, “I think I’ll abstain from that. But I will come to hang out.”

“We should probably get going then,” Catra suggested, “It’s already getting a little late and I’m sure these jocks don’t want to stay up too late.”

Adora groaned, “Don’t remind me. Saturday practices are the worst!”

“I normally rise with the sun, but I do admit that it is difficult to do that after a night drinking,” Perfuma nodded in agreement, “Does anyone have anything else they want to do before we leave?”

“Yeah, hold on just a sec,” Scorpia piped up before leaning down to kiss Perfuma, “Okay, now we’re all good to go.”

Perfuma giggled as the group made their way to the exit. Catra wondered if Adora liked sappy things like that, or if she was the kind of person who was against PDA. Catra was a private person so she wasn’t really a big fan of PDA, but if Adora wanted to be all sappy in public she wouldn’t be able to stop her. Honestly, it might be nice to be able to hold Adora’s hand and kiss her in the open like that. Catra smiled at the thought, earning her a questioning glance from Adora. Catra ignored it.

\---

Catra looked at the bottle of Svedka with consideration. Exactly how trashed did she want to get tonight? On one hand, being drunk was usually a positive experience for her and Entrapta was there to keep her from being too stupid. On the other hand, Catra didn’t trust drunk her to not spill her secrets to Adora and she didn’t really want to make Entrapta babysit.

She finally decided that the goal tonight was “slightly buzzed” and poured herself a heavily mixed drink before making her way back into the living room. Where she was immediately confronted with Adora.

“Catra!” Adora exclaimed, pulling Catra into a sloppy hug. From what Catra could tell, the other girl was obviously not sober.

“Hey, Adora. How are you feeling?” Catra asked cautiously, guiding the blonde to sit on the couch. She didn’t want the other girl to fall.

“Amazing! Scorpia gave me some lemonade to mix with that vodka so I could actually stomach it! Now everything’s all warm and tingly.”

Catra groaned. Scorpia was supposed to be stopping Adora from drinking too much. She turned to glare at the other woman and found her in a giggling fit with Perfuma. Those two needed a room before they started fucking on the couch.

“Catra, look at me,” Adora said, causing Catra to turn back to look at her friend.

“Yeah, what’s up, princess?” Catra asked reluctantly. She didn’t know how much Adora had drank, but it seemed like a lot. Hopefully the other girl would remember this in the morning.

“I love it when you call me princess,” the other girl looked at her contentedly, “It makes me feel so happy!”

“Glad to hear it,” Catra returned the smile.

“You know, you’re so pretty, Catra,” Adora slurred, resting her head on Catra’s shoulder, “I don’t know why no one is dating you. Maybe I should date you!”

Catra could feel heat rush to her cheeks as she blushed. Adora thought she was _pretty?_ “Adora, that’s okay. You don’t have to date me if you don’t want to.”

“But I want to!” Adora insisted, suddenly strangely passionate, “You’re pretty and funny and smart and you’ve been so, _so_ nice to me lately. And your lips look so soft. I wonder what it would feel like to kiss you.”

“Okay, I think that’s enough drinking for you,” Catra pushed Adora off of her, “Here, come with me to the kitchen. Let’s get you some water.”

“Okay!” The other girl giggled as she stood up, grabbing Catra’s arm for support. Catra was much too sober to be dealing with this, but she didn’t trust drunk her around drunk Adora. She was just going to have to suck it up and be the responsible one.

They made their way to the kitchen and Catra filled a glass with water for Adora. She handed it to the other girl, who tipped it up too far and proceeded to spill most of the water down her front. At least it looked like she drank a little.

“Can I tell you a secret, Catra?” Adora asked as Catra refilled her glass for her.

Catra looked at the other girl wearily, “I don’t know. Is it something you would regret telling me in the morning?”

“No! I would never regret telling you this!” Adora shouted, earning them a glance from Entrapta as well as Perfuma and Scorpia. Why were they still here?

“Well then you should wait to tell me in the morning,” Catra reasoned. She really didn’t want to unpack whatever sort of drunken thing Adora was about to throw at her.

“No, I’m gonna tell you now,” Adora decided, “Come closer. I don’t want anyone else to hear it.” Adora glanced at Entrapta, Scorpia, and Perfuma conspiratorially.

“Okay, what is it?” Catra leaned in as per Adora’s request. She really hoped this wasn’t going to be something the other girl regretted. What if she had finally figured out her feelings? Catra didn’t know what would happen if Adora confessed drunk. Nothing good, she was sure.

“Catra,” Adora started, looping her arm over Catra’s shoulder and leaning in. Catra could see the flecks of grey in her blue eyes. 

“Adora,” Catra was getting ready to stop her if things started to sound too serious.

“Okay, I’m gonna tell you, so you can’t tell anyone else.” Catra nodded solemnly. “I’m… a lightweight.”

Oh. “Adora, I know,” Catra said as she burst out laughing.

Adora looked at her offended, “What? Who told you?”

“Adora, honey, _you_ did,” Catra reminded her, “Back when I bought that Malibu and asked you if you wanted some. Don’t you remember?”

Adora’s face scrunched up in concentration for a few moments. “Oh yeah! I remember! You were wearing that shirt I got you for your birthday. You look so nice in that shirt.”

“Um… thanks?” Catra honestly didn’t know how to respond to that. That conversation had happened back in September, so she had no idea how Adora remembered what she was wearing.

There was a silence as Adora contentedly drank the water Catra had given her. In the background, Scorpia and Perfuma laughed freely as they listened to Entrapta’s latest programming story. Last Catra had heard, Entrapta had managed to hack into the university’s website and had put a very unattractive picture of their widely unpopular president on the home page.

“Hey, Catra?” Adora broke the silence.

“What’s up, cutie?”

Adora giggled at the pet name for a few seconds before responding. “What does it feel like to be attracted to someone?”

“You don’t already know?” Catra deflected. They were yet again verging on confession territory.

“Nope,” Adora shook her head fiercely, “I’ve never been attracted to anyone! At least, I don’t think so. I’m a little confused at the moment.”

“Okay, well,” Catra took a deep breath. She supposed the other girl deserved an answer to help with her obvious confusion, “It’s kind of difficult to describe. But I guess it feels a little bit like being nervous, but in a good way. Because it also makes you happy, especially when you spend time with them. Sometimes it feels like you can’t take your eyes off of them or like they’re the most important person in the room. And you’d do anything to make them laugh, because their laughter is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever heard and when you see them smile it makes you smile. And you could listen to them talk about what they’re passionate about for hours, even if you had no idea what they were saying because seeing them excited about something makes you excited.”

Catra trailed off, unsure exactly how to describe the magnitude of what she felt for Adora. Adora considered her for a few moments before announcing, “I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.”

“Excuse me?” Catra asked, offended. She had not spent the better part of her lifetime absolutely enamored with her best friend to be told she didn’t know what _attraction_ felt like by said best friend.

“Well that can’t be attraction, because I feel that about you,” Adora reasoned, “And you’re my bestie!”

Catra couldn’t help but burst into bitter laughter. So close, yet so fucking far. Part of her wondered if Bow and Glimmer and her instincts were wrong. Catra had been flirting with Adora consistently for over a month now, and, other than the occasional blush or small smile, Adora hadn’t been responding. Maybe Adora really wasn’t attracted to her. Maybe instead of feeling attraction sparingly, she just didn’t feel it at all. How else could she be this oblivious?

“What’s funny?” Adora demanded petulantly, obviously thinking she was missing out on a joke.

Catra shook her head. The only joke here was her love life. “Oh, nothing princess. Nothing you don’t already know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're all ready for Adora's POV next chapter... See you next week ;)


	11. Formal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclosure my college doesn't really have greek life so I've never been to a college formal. So sorry if you were, for some reason, expecting a realistic description of the college formal scene, but this is based primarily off of my experience at prom in high school and a little bit on my experience at the one club we have on campus in college. Also, I made a [ playlist ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Lad6XiMApOH6DX5JA30Wq?si=4mXN9qLpRymxrS7nSPdOpQ) for you guys to listen to while reading, to remind you of what it feels like to be a hormonal teenager at a school dance. I've mercifully excluded the "Pumped up Kicks" dance remix that was playing the first time I ever grinded on someone.

Adora awoke with a headache, about 100 texts from Bow and Glimmer who were making plans for the formal, and only about five minutes to get ready for practice before she had to leave. As she frantically pulled on her workout clothes, she mentally cursed past Adora for thinking that getting drunk was a good idea. But that woman had mistaken them for a couple and Catra called her cute and it was all so confusing and terrifying and there was no way she could have feelings like _that_ for Catra because Catra was her _best friend_ and she had hoped alcohol would have a calming effect. Things always seemed simpler when drunk, but not her feelings for Catra. If anything, she was more confused.

She shook her head. She did not have time to be thinking about Catra right now; she needed to focus on practice. She was team captain and there was no way she was letting her team down because of some confusing emotions.

Her stomach did not feel up to food at the moment so Adora decided to skip breakfast in favor of sprinting to the gym. She made it just in time for the warmup, which earned her a concerned glance from Glimmer. Adora usually tried to be five to ten minutes early to practice to help set up and check in with their coach.

As Adora went through the warmup her head throbbed and her muscles protested her every move. Her throat was sore and she was just now noticing that she had forgotten her water bottle in her apartment. She was so lucky that their practice today was just lifting. There was no way she was in any condition to deal with the fast pace of actual game play.

With the warmup done, Adora made a beeline for the squat rack. Best to get it out of the way, she figured as she set up her weights. There was no way she was getting her personal best today, but she could take the opportunity to focus on technique.

Satisfied with the amount of weight, she positioned herself underneath the bar and lifted it before walking back. She took a deep breath as she went through her mental cues: strong stance, engaged core, the overjoyed face Catra made when Adora won that stuffed cat for her…

 _No, not right now._ Adora mentally scolded herself. She had to focus on the task at hand, not on the way Catra’s eyes shone under the boardwalk’s lights. Back to the cues: down like sitting in a chair, chest up at the bottom, the way the memory of that woman mistaking her and Catra for a couple made her want to smile…

Adora finished her set with a sigh. Today was evidently not the day to be lifting heavy objects. Which was rare for Adora, who often used lifting to help distract her and clear her head. Maybe running would be better.

After explaining to her coach that she was feeling a little sick and that it would probably be better for her to go for a run instead of risking injuring herself, Adora found herself on the gym’s treadmill. Adora plugged in some settings and started running. She let her mind wander as her team’s workout playlist blasted in the background.

Her first thought was of winning that stuffed cat for Catra. Of the pure and happy look on her face when she got her prize. And then that woman manning the booth had mistaken them for girlfriends. And Adora’s gut reaction had been to play along with it.

Which was not normal. Adora might not be the best at understanding emotions and she definitely had no idea how to identify attraction, but even she knew that wanting people to think you were dating your best friend probably meant that you wanted to date your best friend.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she did, in fact, want to be dating Catra. The thought made her all warm and tingly inside. Like she _belonged_ with Catra. It was like puzzle pieces sliding into place; one moment Adora had no idea what she was feeling, and the next it was crystal clear. It was Catra; it had always been Catra. And it was only Catra. How could she have been so blind?

She upped the pace of her run as memories started flooding back to her. The time she spent hours planning the best makeup for Catra for their junior prom. The time she yelled at Catra’s parents for crushing her gymnastics dreams. The time she stayed up all night with Catra in her arms as the other girl cried about being different from everyone else at Horde High.

It went back even further than that. In middle school they had sleepovers almost every weekend and would always wake up with Adora wrapped around Catra or Catra on top of Adora. In elementary school she made their fourth grade teacher change the seating assignment so she could hold Catra’s hand during class. In preschool Adora would only play house if Catra was the mom and she was the dad.

Bow and Glimmer had been right. All that time, she had been jealous of those girls. So, so jealous. And fantasizing about kissing your best friend? Adora was going to go out on a limb and say that wasn’t a normal thing. Oh, and wanting to spend your entire life with your best friend? Also gay. It made so much sense it was liberating. Adora upped the speed yet again as a smile spread across her face. She wanted to take on a whole field hockey team singlehandedly and dance on the roof of her apartment complex and announce to the entire world that she was gay for her best friend.

Her best friend who was definitely not into her, she realized as her heart fell. If Catra was into her, she would have asked Adora out by now. She was sure of it. Catra was the kind of person who spoke her mind and didn’t back down from a challenge.

In fact, it was likely that Catra already knew she had a crush and was doing her best to let her down gently. That would explain why Catra had ignored her for the better part of freshman year; the other girl had probably hoped that the distance would help Adora get over it. And after a year had passed--Adora was no expert but that seemed like it should be more than enough time to get over a crush--Catra had decided that Adora was probably over it and it was safe to resume their friendship.

So what was Adora supposed to do now? She finally had her first crush and it was on her best friend who would definitely leave if she found out. Adora had no idea how to get over a crush without cutting Catra out of her life completely. Which she was not about to do. If the past two years of college were any indicator, she needed Catra in her life, even if it was just as friends. Catra just made everything better, just made Adora happier.

Deciding that if she did physical activity for any longer she would probably puke or pass out, Adora said goodbye to her coach and waved to her teammates on her way out. She made her way back to her apartment and opened the door, ready to eat some ice cream and collapse in her bed for the rest of the day. But instead she was confronted by Catra lounging in the living room in a sports bra and a pair of spandex that left little to the imagination and _holy shit_ her best friend was so hot and how had she not realized this sooner?

“Good morning cutie,” Catra winked as she looked up from her phone, “How are you feeling?”

Had Catra always called her cutie? That seemed new, but maybe it just stood out more now that the implication that Catra thought she was _cute_ made her feel giddy.

“Horrible,” Adora groaned. Not only was she realizing that she wasn’t nearly as straight as she previously thought, but her head was still throbbing.

“Yeah, drinking will do that to you,” Catra smirked at her, “Who knew you’d be such a lightweight?” 

Adora froze. She remembered telling Catra she was a lightweight last night. After she had said that she wanted to kiss her and date her. And she also admitted to feeling attraction-like emotions for her. Great. Hopefully Catra didn’t take that seriously. The last thing she wanted was to ruin their friendship with unrequited emotions. Catra was everything to her, and Adora couldn’t afford to lose her like she did freshman year.

“You good there, princess?” Catra asked when Adora took too long to respond. And now Adora knew what that feeling was whenever Catra called her princess. It wasn’t “friendship” or happiness or whatever she had told herself in the past. It was attraction, plain and simple. Adora had never felt it so strongly before and she didn’t know what to do with it.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Adora finally said, doing her best to form coherent thoughts despite her current situation, “I’m just a little hungover. Practice was really rough this morning. I should have known better than to drink that much.”

“Wow, you still went to practice after last night? What an upstanding teammate,” Catra said, sounding genuinely impressed. Catra was _impressed_ with her!

“It’s my job as team captain to be there,” Adora reminded the other girl. As a sophomore, she was the youngest team captain in over fifty years. It was a lot of pressure, but there was no way she was letting her team down. 

“No one would have blamed you if you missed. We all have those nights,” Catra pointed out with concern on her face.

Adora shook her head, “Well I can’t have those nights. I have to be consistent.”

“If you say so, princess, At least let me get you some water,” Catra offered before standing up and walking over to the kitchen. As she passed Adora, Catra’s eyes scanned her body, as if just now realizing she was in workout clothes. Catra’s eyes settled on Adora’s pants as she filled a glass with water, which was weird until Adora remembered the pattern on her workout shorts. 

“Oh, they're unicorns,” Adora offered.

Catra blinked at her, “What’s unicorns?”

“My pants. You were looking at them. It’s probably hard to tell from there, but the pattern is unicorns.”

“Oh,” Catra stopped looking at Adora’s pants to check on the water’s progress. Deciding the glass was full enough, she placed the water on the counter near Adora. “Um, yeah, the pattern of your pants. Unicorns. That’s cool.”

“Yeah! Glimmer got them for me for Christmas,” Adora smiled as she drank some water. After going for a run without a water bottle, she was parched.

“You should probably eat something too,” Catra offered, her cheeks uncharacteristically pink, “Do you think you’re up for that?”

Adora nodded as she took out her phone to avoid looking her friend in the eyes. “Yeah, some toast or something would be great.”

“Coming right up,” Catra joked before turning back into the kitchen.

[To: Best Friends Squad 💕 ✨ 👑 ]

<<Guys I’m freaking out rn

<<How soon can you guys be at the library

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Adora are you okay???

>>[Glimmer ✨] Is this about why you left practice early?

>>[Glimmer ✨] Do you need us to call someone for you?

<<No it’s nothing life threatening

<<Although it’s pretty life altering

<<I’ll explain in person

>>[Glimmer ✨] Adora wtf is happening

<<Just meet me at the library in 30? I want to talk about this in person

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Adora whats going on

<<I promise it’s not bad!

<<Well it’s kind of bad

<<But not like bad bad

<<Like you shouldn’t be concerned

<<Well maybe you should be?

<<But not like concerned for my safety you know

<<Just like concerned for my well being

<< *emotional well being I promise nothing happened to me

>>[Glimmer ✨] This is doing nothing to reassure us

<<It’s about Catra

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Ooh

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] I can be there in 20

>>[Glimmer ✨] Same

<<Tysm

“Here’s that toast.” Catra’s voice and the sound of a plate being set down in front of her caused Adora to look up. And make eye contact with her very concerned friend’s absolutely gorgeous eyes. She blushed and looked down at the toast.

“Thanks,” Adora mumbled before beginning to eat. The food actually helped the ache in her stomach and the water did seem to be easing the throb of her head. As she ate, Catra rummaged around the kitchen, probably getting her own breakfast.

“Hey, I’m going to go meet Bow and Glimmer at the library,” Adora informed her friend after finishing her toast. She stood up and put her plate in the dishwasher, but Catra grabbed her plate first.

“Don’t worry I got it,” The other girl said with a smile, “Are you sure you’re good to go out? No offense, but you look ready to pass out.”

Adora did her best to return her friend’s smile. “Catra, I’ll be fine. I promise.”

Catra shrugged, “Do what you want.”

With that, Adora turned around and made her way back to the bathroom, where she rinsed herself off and threw some clothes on. She took a moment to look in the mirror, and Catra was right. She really didn’t look great; she had dark bags under her eyes and her hair was a tangled mess. With a sigh, Adora began tackling the mess that was her hair.

After she deemed herself presentable, she made her way to their front door, passing by the kitchen and through the living room as she went. Catra was nowhere to be found, which made Adora feel both relieved and sad. She had kind of wished Catra would stick around to check on her one last time before she left. She liked having Catra, who was usually so prickly, taking care of her. But she also wasn’t convinced she would be able to put together a complete sentence around the other girl anytime soon.

With a sigh, Adora made her way over to the library, where she found Bow and Glimmer sitting at a table having a very animated conversation with concerned expressions on their faces. Adora felt bad for making her friends worried, but she was in the middle of a sexuality crisis so it was kind of a big deal.

“Hey guys,” Adora greeted as she sat down.

“Adora! What’s going on?” Bow asked, concern evident in his eyes, “Why did you leave practice?”

“Yeah, no offense but you look like shit,” Glimmer agreed.

“I kind of… gotreallydrunklastnight?” Adora winced. As a rule, the three of them only got drunk together so they could look out for each other. Adora had spent many nights keeping drunk Bow and Glimmer from getting them kicked out of various restaurants and they had spent many nights making sure she didn’t fall asleep in a ditch.

“What?” Glimmer yelled, earning her some glares, “Adora, you know you can’t just do that! What if something had happened?”

“Okay, it’s not that big of a deal. I knew not to leave the apartment,” Adora defended herself. She wasn’t a baby, “But that’s not important! This is about Catra.”

“Did Catra do something?” Glimmer asked with concern.

“No! It’s nothing like that I promise,” Adora took a deep breath, “It’s just that… Well I think I have a crush on Catra?”

Bow started laughing as Glimmer mumbled “oh thank god” under her breath.

“What?” Adora asked defensively. She knew her friends had been on her case about having a crush on Catra before, but she assumed it was just because of how close the two are. She didn’t think they _actually_ thought she was crushing on Catra. Honestly, she was hoping they would be more surprised.

“Sorry Adora,” Glimmer smiled at her sheepishly, “It’s just the fact that we’ve been trying to get you to realize that for like a year now.”

“But that’s great news!” Bow exclaimed next to her.

“What? No it’s not!” Adora looked back at her friends with surprise, “This is a huge problem! I have a _crush_ on my _best friend._ What if Catra finds out and it freaks her out and we stop being friends?”

“Wait, let me get this straight. Which you’re not,” Bow said before snickering, “You think that your feelings are unrequited and that if Catra found out it would make her uncomfortable?”

Adora nodded. “I mean, if Catra felt the same about me, don’t you think she would have made it obvious by now?”

Glimmer let out a long and defeated sigh, “Adora, she asked you to the formal yesterday. She calls you ‘princess’ like all the time. She literally fake dated someone to see how jealous it would make you.”

“That’s just what Catra does! She’s just _like_ that,” Adora groaned, “She asked me to the formal as friends! And she calls me princess to tease me about that one time she beat me in laser tag because she’s a competitive brat. And that whole thing with Scorpia was just to get a rise out of me because Catra likes getting a rise out of people. She thinks it’s amusing.”

“Just a word of advice, but maybe you should keep an open mind,” Bow suggested, “I know it’s hard to believe it, but Catra could definitely have feelings for you.”

“Yeah, you’re a total catch!” Glimmer agreed, “You’re the star of the field hockey team despite only being a sophomore and you’re insanely hard working no matter what you’re doing and on top of that you still manage to be super sweet and a good friend.”

“Okay, but even if Catra had a crush on me, and that’s a big if, how would I even realize it? I don’t exactly know how to look for these things,” Adora admitted. She had never been interested in other people before today, so it’s not like she had a lot of practice.

“Well if she flirts with you, that’s usually a good sign,” Glimmer shrugged.

“You think I know how to tell when someone’s flirting with me?” Adora asked, exasperated.

Bow laughed, “It’s not rocket science, Adora. If Catra’s been nice to you and compliments you a lot, she’s probably flirting with you.”

“But Catra’s my friend. She’s supposed to be nice to me and compliment me,” Adora pointed out, “How did you guys realize you were flirting with each other?”

Bow’s jaw dropped and Glimmer turned bright red. There was an awkward silence as the trio stared at each other blankly.

“Adora… Do you think we’re dating?” Bow finally asked quietly.

Adora hesitated. Of course they were dating, right? They spent all their time together and held hands and supported each other unconditionally. “Yes?”

“We’re, um, we’re not,” Glimmer said, suddenly very interested in the poster on library rules behind Adora’s head.

“Wait, what?” Adora all but yelled, shocked, “But you’re inseparable! And you know everything about each other! And you two definitely _look_ at each other like…” Adora trailed off, realizing this was probably super weird for her two friends, who weren’t dating, to hear. Although why weren’t they dating?

“Yeah, well, we’re just friends,” Bow said weakly, also doing his best to avoid looking at Glimmer.

Adora crossed her arms, “If you two aren’t together then why are you lecturing me on getting together with Catra?”

“Because it’s obvious _Catra_ returns your feelings!” Glimmer exclaimed passionately.

Adora stared at Glimmer with shock. There was obviously a lot to unpack there, and Adora was not feeling recovered enough to deal with that right now.

“ _Anyways_ , are we still on for shopping next week?” Bow changed the subject pointedly.

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Adora nodded, glad for the change in subject.

Glimmer lit up, “You better be! Now that you’re going with your crush, we’re going to have to pick something extra special!”

\---

It was the day of the formal, and Adora was extremely nervous. She had never gotten ready for a dance without Catra, but Catra had decided to get ready with Scorpia, and Bow and Glimmer had insisted on getting ready together.

She knocked on the door of Glimmer’s apartment, dress and makeup in hand. Glimmer opened the door seconds later with a smile on her face. “Who's ready to get completely made over?”

Adora swallowed. She remembered Catra being the only bearable part of getting ready for dances. Makeup was uncomfortable and hairspray made her hair feel gross for days after. “Me?”

“Oh my God, Adora, relax. I’m not going to kill you. Just come inside,” Glimmer motioned for Adora to come into her apartment. Adora draped her dress over the overstuffed pink couch in the middle of the room before following Glimmer to her bedroom.

“Okay, so we’re starting with makeup, and then moving to hair, and then you’ll put your dress on,” Glimmer commanded as she motioned for Adora to sit on the fuzzy ottoman by her vanity.

Adora nodded and handed Glimmer her bag of makeup. She was glad that she wasn’t going to have to do it this time--Catra couldn’t even tell the difference between a blending blush and a foundation brush so in high school makeup was left to Adora--but she was eager to get it over with.

“Two palettes of nude shades. Okay, I can work with this. I’ll probably have to use some of my palettes though,” Glimmer took stock of Adora’s two palettes with a look of mild concern. There was a knock at the door, “Oh! That’s Bow. I’ll be right back! Go ahead and do your foundation.”

Glimmer left and Adora dutifully applied her foundation. She heard Bow and Glimmer’s voices getting louder as they made their way down the hallway until both were in Glimmer’s room.

“Hey, Adora! Are you excited?” Bow greeted.

Adora shook her head, “More like really nervous.”

“You’re going to be fine. I’m going to make you look so amazing Catra won’t be able to keep her hands off of you,” Glimmer promised as Bow sat on her bed to watch.

“Oh,” Adora said, unsure if handsy Catra was better or worse. On one hand, Adora had spent the past two weeks realizing that she very much did want Catra to touch her. On the other hand, Adora had also spent the past two weeks getting so insanely flustered by every small point of contact between them that Adora wasn’t sure if she would survive an entire night of Catra’s hands on her.

“Or is that what you’re worried about?” Bow asked. 

Adora sighed as she dutifully tilted her head back and closed her eyes so Glimmer could start on her makeup. “Yeah, kind of? I just don’t know what to do. I’ve never been to a dance with a date before.”

“Okay, well if Catra asks if you want to dance, you should say yes. Don’t be shy!” Bow instructed.

“And don’t be afraid to be close to her. You know how dances are, people are always pressed up against each other. Use that to your advantage and stand closer to her than you normally would,” Glimmer added as she began applying eyeshadow.

“But I don't even know how to dance!” Adora protested.

Glimmer laughed as she switched eyes, “Don’t be worried, no one really knows how to dance at these things. Just make sure you keep your hips moving to the beat and you should be fine.”

“And if you need to grind on her make sure the motion comes from your lower back and not your butt,” Bow instructed, as if that was a normal thing to know.

Glimmer paused in her makeup efforts as both her and Adora turned to stare at Bow.

“What?” Bow shrugged defensively, “Sea Hawk made the men’s team learn how to dance so we don’t embarrass ourselves!”

“I had no idea the team captain was allowed to mandate that,” Glimmer said as she turned her attention back to Adora’s face, “Why didn’t you make us learn how to dance, Adora?”

“Because I don’t want to know how to dance! I just want to kiss my best friend,” Adora lamented. The only thing that was keeping her from wimping out on this dance was the fact that she didn’t want to flake on Catra.

“The two may be more related than you realize,” Bow noted.

“Oh my God, shut up Bow, you’re scaring her,” Glimmer said teasingly, “Look, Adora, just dance however Catra’s dancing, okay? Don’t be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone!”

“I knew I should have researched how to dance before going to a literal dance,” Adora sighed. She had never been a big planner like Catra, but she did like to research obsessively for situations that made her anxious. And this was one of them.

“No! No research. This is a heat of the moment event,” Glimmer commanded, moving on from eyeshadow to eyeliner.

“No amount of research is going to prepare you to dance with your crush,” Bow agreed, “Especially when that crush is Catra who is objectively terrifying.”

“I think you mean objectively hot, Bow. No wonder you’re so freaked out, Adora,” Glimmer noted absently, “Now hold still, I have to put on your falsies,” Glimmer instructed before pressing the fake eyelashes to Adora’s lash line. Adora dutifully remained still as Glimmer double checked the alignment.

As their preparations continued, the conversation drifted away from dancing techniques and to embarrassing stories from Bow and Glimmer’s childhoods. Adora was glad that the mistaking them for a couple incident didn’t seem to have any lasting impact on the duo’s friendship. But they also still weren’t together, so there had to be something going on that Adora didn’t know about.

Eventually, Glimmer finished with her makeup and Bow swooped in to do her hair. Glimmer did her own makeup and Adora helped her do her hair as Bow did his own eyeliner. Finally convinced that everyone was properly prepared, Glimmer gave everyone the green light to get changed.

Adora put on her dress and looked at herself in the mirror. Glimmer had gone for a gold look with a hint of red that made her eyes look a vivid blue. Combined with the winged eyeliner and false eyelashes and Adora looked like she had gotten her makeup done professionally. Bow had opted to leave her hair down, and the gold of her hair complimented the gold of the straps of her a-line dress. Her dress was mainly white, with gold accents on her straps and near her waist. It had a very deep back--a little too low for comfort, but Glimmer had insisted it made her look amazing--and flared out to a skirt that stopped about mid-thigh. She honestly looked really good.

“Alright, team, let’s get going!” Glimmer pumped her fist in the air after they were all dressed. Her purple dress with the fluffy skirt looked cute on her, although Glimmer had told Adora she had chosen it because it “gave off strict no grinding vibes.” Maybe Adora should have chosen a fluffier dress.

“Yeah, we got this!” Bow agreed from beside her, in a white suit with black pants and gold accents. He didn’t really match Glimmer but then again Adora hadn’t bothered to coordinate with Catra at all so that probably wasn’t a requirement. Was it?

They all piled into Glimmer’s car that she was only able to have because her mom was on BMU’s staff and made their way to the formal. After parking somewhere not strictly legal (“What are they going to do, Bow, sue me?” “Yes, Glimmer, they will literally give you a ticket.”) they walked over to where Catra, Scorpia, and Perfuma had agreed to meet them.

Adora’s jaw dropped. Catra’s body was angled slightly away from Adora as she talked to Perfuma and Scorpia, but Adora could still see how hot her date looked. She was standing there in a gorgeous maroon suit, looking like she owned the world. Adora could only stare at how well it fit the brunette. She let her eyes follow the lines of the suit, the way the material of her pants hugged her hips and the hints of exposed skin peeking out from her suit jacket and below the bralette she was wearing underneath. The way the arms of the jacket were rolled up so Adora could see her forearms. It was just so _Catra,_ and Adora was having trouble breathing.

“Adora, you’re staring,” Glimmer whispered from beside her as she elbowed Adora in the side.

“Ow,” Adora complained as she rubbed her side, snapped out of her trance.

“Hey Catra!” Bow called from beside Adora loudly, causing Catra’s group to look in their direction.

“Hey, what’s up Arrow? Sparkles?” Catra called as she walked over to Adora’s group. Adora’s mouth was dry. The closer she got the better she managed to look. There was no way she was going to survive this dance.

Bow said something in response, but Adora didn’t register what she was saying. Because Catra was standing directly in front of Adora, and she was definitely wearing heels because she was at eye level. Adora gaped as Catra scanned her body with a confident smirk, much like Adora had just looked at her. Adora wondered if Catra had seen her looking.

“Hey Adora,” Catra greeted, her voice low and casual, “You look amazing. Is that a new dress?”

“My dress? Oh, _this_ dress? Um... Yeah! It’s new. Glimmer and I bought it. Well, Glimmer didn’t buy it, I did. But she helped me pick it out,” Adora stammered, doing her best to maintain eye contact with Catra as she spoke.

“We got it at Salineas!” Glimmer butted in, obviously seeing that Adora needed help.

“Well you did a wonderful job picking it out,” Catra smiled at Glimmer politely before bringing her gaze back to Adora, “Shall we go?”

“Oh, you two can go on ahead. Glimmer and I need to find Mermista. She has our tickets,” Bow piped up. Adora looked at him with wide eyes. She knew for a fact that Bow and Glimmer already had their tickets. This wasn’t part of the plan! She couldn’t be left alone with Catra when she looked like _this!_

Glimmer nodded, “Yeah, we’ll see you inside!” before scurrying off with Bow.

“Well then, looks like it’s just you and me, princess. I told Scorpia and Perfuma to go on ahead,” Catra drawled with an amused expression on her face. Adora wondered if she could tell Bow was lying, “Are you ready?”

Adora swallowed before nodding, “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Then let’s go,” Catra said before stepping beside Adora and wrapping her arm around Adora’s waist and letting her hand rest on Adora’s hip gently. Adora was now realizing just how low the back on her dress really was. She could feel the skin of Catra’s forearm touching just above the small of her back, sending nervous sparks through her body.

Adora nodded because she didn’t trust her voice at the moment, and she allowed Catra to lead her to the entrance.

Once at the door, Catra had to remove her arm from Adora’s waist to grab her ticket. Adora found herself missing the contact as she grabbed her own ticket from her purse and showed it to the man at the entryway.

After the man took their tickets, Catra’s arm was around her waist again. Adora blushed as she realized that they definitely looked like they were a couple right now. 

The pair walked into the conference room where the formal was being held. It was obvious what the frat thought the night would be used for: the room was basically split up into a dance floor with huge speakers and far too much bass and a bar. People were already gathering on the dance floor, and Adora could hear the screams as people encouraged their friends to take shots.

“Wow, this seems pretty lame,” Catra noted, “If we wanted to get drunk and dance like idiots we could have just done that back at the apartment.”

“You can just leave if you want,” Adora pointed out, praying that Catra didn’t take the offer seriously. Now that they were here Adora might as well see where the night took them.

Catra shook her head, “Nah. I’d rather be with you anyways.”

Adora smiled at the thought of Catra also enjoying their time together, even if the other girl meant as just friends.

“So I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’re not going to want to drink tonight,” Catra said after a brief silence, “Which means I guess we should dance?”

Adora looked at the crowded dance floor. She hadn’t danced in such a large group since her senior prom, and she didn’t really like the feeling of random bodies pressing up against her. But if Catra danced with her, maybe those hands would linger on her for a little longer and Adora could pretend like they were together.

“Yeah, that sounds fun,” Adora agreed, scanning the dance floor for their friends. No such luck. She was just going to have to brave this on her own. 

“Okay, just let me put my stuff away,” Catra nodded before making her way to the side of the room, where there was a helpful coat check set up. Adora watched from behind her as she removed her shoes and shrugged her coat off, leaving her in just a lacy, maroon bralette. Which technically covered her enough to be an acceptable shirt, but left her midsection exposed. Adora could see the smooth skin of her back and had to fight the urge to run her hands up Catra’s sides. _Get yourself together, Adora. She’s your best friend. Stop thinking about her like that._ Adora scolded herself.

“Do you want to leave your purse and shoes here?” Catra turned to ask her. And wow. Adora thought that the back of Catra’s outfit was enticing, but the front was even more so. Adora could see the defined lines of Catra’s abs and the dusting of freckles on her collarbone.

“Um,” Adora responded eloquently, distracted by the deep v of Catra’s bra that left little to the imagination.

“Hey, earth to Adora,” Catra crossed her arms and leaned her weight to one side in annoyance, “Do you want to wear those shoes for the rest of the night, or do you want to leave them here?”

Adora finally managed to snap her eyes up from Catra’s chest to the other girl’s eyes. Catra had an eyebrow raised and was obviously looking for an answer, “Oh, sure. I’ll leave my stuff here.”

Adora hurriedly took her heels off, already feeling more comfortable in bare feet. She hated wearing heels and had only done so because she suspected Catra would be wearing heels, and she didn’t want to let the other girl be taller than her. But now that Catra was barefoot, Adora could be too.

Catra handed the shoes and purse to the attendant, who gave her a wristband with a number written on it. Catra scowled at the offending accessory as she put it on.

“Seriously? Neon green? Way to choose a color that will clash with literally everyone’s outfits,” Catra huffed as they walked away from the booth.

“It’s just a strip of paper, Catra, it’s not that big of a deal. You barely even notice it,” Adora pointed out with a laugh.

“Easy for you to say, miss ‘I’m so attractive I somehow look good while combining animal print and gingham.’ Some of us rely on color coordination to make us look good,” Catra scoffed with a playful shove to Adora’s side.

Adora felt a rush of excitement at Catra calling her attractive. She knew it was just because her friend was hyping her up, but it made her feel special. She could almost pretend that Catra wanted her too.

“I think you look good in anything,” Adora offered back shyly before turning to scan the dance floor for the best spot.

She started walking towards the dance floor, with Catra close behind, arm wrapped around Adora’s hip again. Adora finally settled on a spot at the edge of the swarm of people, hoping it would be less crowded and sweaty. But more and more people were joining in and soon they found themselves surrounded by people on all sides.

Catra had removed her arms from Adora’s hips to stand across from her. For a few moments, Adora just watched in awe as Catra moved her hips in time with the music. The other girl hadn’t been big on dancing at their high school dances, but it was obvious she had been to some parties since they had last been to something like this together. Catra ran her fingers through her hair, messing it up more than it had already been, before making eye contact with Adora and smirking confidently

Finally remembering that she was supposed to be dancing too, Adora started moving in time with the music. She did her best to mimic the sway of Catra’s hips, but she was sure she didn’t do it justice. 

Adora found herself jostled around by various people knocking into her. It was crowded and hot and uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to stop. Not when Catra was looking right at her and Adora was drowning in the weight of her gaze.

Finally deciding she had been pushed by enough people, Adora grabbed Catra’s hands and placed them on her hips. Catra stared at her with wide eyes, obviously surprised. Which was fair; Adora was rarely that bold.

“I don’t want to get separated,” Adora lied.

Catra nodded as she pulled Adora closer until their hips were almost touching. They stared at each other for a few seconds, neither of them moving. Then Catra began moving her hips again, her motions almost inviting Adora to copy her. So Adora followed Catra’s lead, essentially mirroring her movements. Adora mentally thanked whatever higher power was out there that this kind of dancing gave her an excuse to stare at Catra’s hips, so she could watch the intoxicatingly effortless way the other girl danced.

“My eyes are up here, Adora,” Catra yelled over the music.

“I’m trying to copy what you’re doing,” Adora justified herself before looking up at Catra’s eyes, which were trained on her like Adora was the only thing in the world.

Without warning, Catra took Adora’s hands and rested them on her hips. She raised her own arms in the air as she moved her hips with more intensity. “Just feel what I’m doing.”

Adora swallowed, trying to return some moisture to her mouth as she watched Catra close her eyes and dance like she was the hottest woman in the world. Which she was; this whole night was only making that fact even more evident.

Adora lost track of time as she danced with Catra, feeling Catra’s body moving beneath her hands. At some point, Catra had placed a hand on Adora’s exposed back and pulled her closer, until there was almost no space between their bodies. The contact with Catra was sending adrenaline rushing through Adora, making the world spin until the only things she could focus on was the thrumming of the bass in her ears and the nervous electricity that filled the space between her and Catra.

And that person behind Adora. Who was definitely too close, whose hands were definitely making their way to her hips. Adora froze. She only wanted Catra to touch her like that.

Noticing Adora’s discomfort, Catra pulled Adora closer to her, essentially ripping Adora’s body out of the other person’s grasp. It had the added effect of pressing their bodies together, and Adora tried very hard not to focus on the fact that Catra’s breasts were literally pressed up against her.

“Hey, what the fuck do you thing you’re doing?” Catra yelled at the intruder. Adora tried to turn her head to look at Catra’s face, but she was too close and ended up nearly kissing Catra on the cheek. Adora settled for testing her forehead against the side of Catra’s head instead.

The other person responded, but Adora couldn’t hear them over the sound of her pulse in her ears and her efforts to steady her breathing.

“Well how about you stop harassing my date--” Adora felt Catra’s grip tighten at the word _my_ “--and get lost? I’m sure your mommy is wondering where you are.”

There was another response, which Adora assumed was some sort of insult, before Catra loosened her grip on Adora’s hips. Adora stayed close, not wanting another incident.

“God, people here have no boundaries,” Catra said into Adora’s ear so Adora could hear her, “Seriously, who the fuck does that?”

Adora moved her head to talk in Catra’s ear. “Thank you for getting rid of them.”

“No problem, princess,” Adora could hear the smile on Catra’s voice, “Do you want to keep dancing or get out of here?”

Two weeks ago, an incident like that would have had Adora ready to leave. But Catra’s hand was still resting gently on her back and their bodies were flush to each other and Adora had never touched anyone like this before. She was pretty sure she liked it.

“No, we can keep dancing,” Adora decided, “Just… Can you stand behind me so no one else does?”

Catra, who had still been gently moving to the beat of the music, stilled. “You want to grind on me?”

Adora paused for a second as she realized that she had literally just asked Catra if she could grind on her. And then she felt all logical thought leaving her mind as she realized how badly she wanted to grind on Catra. “I just don’t want anyone else to do it.”

“Dude, I’m seriously not going to be offended if you want to leave,” Catra said, an unidentifiable emotion in her voice. Concern? Desire? Anticipation?

“I don’t want to leave! I’m having fun,” Adora insisted.

“If you say so,” Catra said before using her grip on Adora to turn the other girl around. Adora could feel Catra’s hips pressed up against her as Catra pulled their bodies flush against each other. Adora was on the verge of overheating, and it wasn’t just because of the sweaty dance floor.

Emboldened by the contact, Adora rolled her hips back. She could hear Catra inhale sharply at her action. And _oh_ , Adora liked that sound a lot. Adora moved her hips again, and Catra finally got the hint and moved her hips in time with Adora.

“Damn, Adora, where did you learn to dance like this?” Catra said from behind Adora, her voice low and gravely.

Adora didn’t know how to answer that, didn’t know if she could answer that without choking on her words, so she settled for resting her hands over Catra’s and pushing her hips back onto Catra more insistently.

Catra seemed to get the hint and let her question get lost to the music. Adora let her eyes survey the mob of people in front of her, desperately looking for something to distract from the fire pumping through her veins. As she looked, she made eye contact with Bow, who was dancing at a very respectable distance from Glimmer.

Bow’s jaw dropped when he saw Adora and he said something to Glimmer before pointing in Adora’s direction. Glimmer turned and her face quickly morphed into a similar expression. Bow gave Adora a thumbs up, which Adora returned with an uneasy smile. Then Glimmer mouthed something that looked a lot like “kiss her.”

Adora mouthed back “kiss her?” hoping the panic she was feeling at that suggestion was appropriately portrayed in her face. She was suddenly very glad that Catra was behind her and couldn’t see the conversation.

Bow nodded vigorously as Glimmer mouthed “chew it.” Adora cocked her head to the side, and Glimmer rolled her eyes and mouthed the phrase again. Oh, “do it.”

Adora had just enough pent up sexual frustration in her to consider going through with it. Which was a terrifying thought, because kissing Catra would definitely freak the other girl out. But if Bow and Glimmer thought it was a good idea, maybe she should just go for it.

Experimentally, Adora tilted her head back until she was looking at Catra in the eyes. Catra’s eyes were darker than she remembered, and they were focused on her. Adora let one of her hands drop from its position on Catra’s to cup the back of Catra’s head. She let her fingers entwine themselves in Catra’s wild hair.

Catra seemed to understand what Adora wanted and tipped her head back slightly. Adora leaned in more, letting their noses brush against each other gently. Catra stared back at her with an expression much like when they fell on each other while ice skating. But there was something different, almost a steely determination behind them. And then Catra’s eyes weren’t looking at Adora anymore, they were looking at her lips.

“Catra,” Adora started, desperate to gauge how her friend was going to react before she took the plunge.

“What do you want, princess?” Catra’s voice came out soft, caring, and almost vulnerable as her eyes met Adora’s yet again.

Adora hesitated. She wanted to kiss Catra so bad it was overwhelming. But was that what she really wanted? Did she seriously want to set their friendship back because she didn’t know how to ignore her attraction like a normal person? She loved Catra as more than a friend, but she would rather have Catra as just a friend than not have her at all. Catra was just too important to take such a large risk on.

She let her eyes fall to Catra’s lips, hoping the visual would give her the courage she needed to go through with it. Catra tilted her head back ever so slightly, practically inviting Adora to lean in. Adora could feel Catra’s grip on her midsection tightening, pulling them impossibly closer. Adora could see the way Catra’s lips parted, open and inviting. But Adora could also see the rejection in her mind’s eye, could hear Catra saying the kiss was a heat of the moment incident and that they should move on from it as best as they could.

“I want to get out of here,” Adora finally settled on. It wasn’t worth the risk. What she wanted more than anything was Catra in her life, whatever form that was going to take.

Catra’s hips stilled as she loosened her grip on Adora’s waist. She leaned back ever so slightly, putting space between their bodies. The separation hurt, but Adora knew she would have to bear some pain if she wanted to keep Catra in the long run. “Where do you want to go?”

“The Crimson Waste?” Adora suggested. She was pretty sure the fast food restaurant would still be open.

Catra stepped back from Adora more, but she grabbed Adora’s hand and entwined their fingers. “Sounds good, princess.”

Adora allowed Catra to guide her out of the crowd, feeling relief as the cool of the air conditioning hit her when they exited. It cleared her head and let her focus. She was sure Catra was only willing to kiss her because of the heat of the moment and the feeling of their bodies pressed against each other. Catra was rarely impulsive, but even she had to have lapses of judgement at some point.

They gathered their stuff from the coat check--where the attendant winked at them and was obviously under the impression that they were leaving to hook up and not binge eat their feelings away--and made their way outside to call an uber.

And that’s how Adora ended up in a booth at a nearly abandoned fast food restaurant, eating fries and staring at her best friend as she laughed at some stupid joke Adora had made. It hurt to see so plainly how gorgeous Catra was as she doubled over, tears coming from her eyes as she snorted between raspy giggles. There was nothing that Adora could do but smile back silently, afraid that if she said something she would ruin the moment. Adora loved Catra more than anything, but knew she could never have Catra in the way she wanted her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha I bet you thought they were going to kiss!!
> 
> Seriously though, there's only like five chapters left and the last one is an epilogue so it's bound to happen sometime soon... Hang in there!
> 
> In case my descriptions weren't clear, Adora's dress is her future dress but short, with a lower back, and without the cape, and Catra's wearing the princess prom suit but with a bralette underneath instead of the shirt/tie she wears in the show. Also, yes Bow and Glimmer have been living vicariously through Adora and Catra because they're both too scared to make a move on each other.
> 
> Just a heads up I'm traveling next weekend so I'm not quite sure when the next chapter's going to come out. Part of me wants to post it sometime this week, but I'd rather make y'all wait a little longer and publish a chapter that isn't rushed. So my current goal for the next chapter is next Monday.


	12. Ice Cream Parlor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer and Bow continue to project their own issues onto Catradora and Catra desperately tries to navigate the resultant mess. Have fun reading!

“HOW did you manage to not kiss her? She was literally _grinding_ on you Catra! I saw her leaning in with my own two eyes!” Glimmer yelled in exasperation as she paced their living room. Catra checked the clock to make sure Adora wasn’t going to walk in on their conversation. The other girl should be at her linguistics major meeting for another half hour at least.

“Okay, you weren’t there! I asked her what she wanted and she said she wanted to leave,” Catra defended herself, “So unless you’d rather I kiss her without her consent I don’t know what you want from me.”

Catra honestly had no idea what had happened last night. She had thought it was time: the way Adora had been looking at her all night, the way Adora had literally asked to grind on her, the way that Bow and Glimmer had sat her down the day before and told her that they thought Adora was ready for their relationship to progress. But Catra had to check in with Adora, make sure she actually _wanted_ Catra and wasn’t just doing this because Bow and Glimmer were putting ideas in her head. And Adora, sweet, asexual Adora, had made it very clear that she did not want Catra. Which conflicted harshly with every single signal Catra had been getting these past few months but there was no way Catra was pushing it.

“No, don’t do that,” Bow piped up from his spot in their armchair, “But Glimmer has a point. That’s two missed kiss opportunities. At some point you’re going to have to go for it. If you’re not going to kiss her, you should at least tell her how you feel.”

“Well I’ve never pursued someone I actually cared about before, so you gotta help me out here! I can’t fuck this up,” Catra insisted, “How did you two do it?”

“Do what?” Glimmer asked slowly.

“You know, confess! Get together, admit your feelings, have a sappy moment of emotional vulnerability. How’d you do that?” Catra rolled her eyes. Glimmer definitely knew what she was talking about.

“We’re not together,” Bow said a little too firmly.

Catra raised an eyebrow, “You’re not?”

“No, we’re not,” Glimmer insisted with an equal level of conviction.

“Well you two should get on that then,” Catra shrugged.

“What do you mean by that?” Bow stammered, clearly embarrassed.

“I can’t believe I took advice from you two idiots. No wonder this whole plan was shit,” Catra pinched the bridge of her nose, “Look, you guys need to fuck or something. I’m not a relationship guru, but you two obviously aren’t either. You should probably deal with your mutual attraction sooner rather than later. Trust me, pining is _not_ the road you want to go down,” Catra made a dismissive motion as Glimmer did her best to look offended, “But enough about your problems, we’re supposed to be talking about my problems right now.”

Honestly, those two not dating made a lot of sense. Who else would let her go through with the stupid fake dating Scorpia plan? And what was with this “we _think_ she’s _probably_ ready for the next step” bullshit when they clearly knew the answer?

“Okay... well I’ve never confessed but from what I’ve seen you need something big!” Bow said eagerly, clearly ready to change the subject.

“Really?” Catra asked, uncertain.

“Oh yeah,” Glimmer nodded, “It either has to be right before a major turning point in your lives or like something huge and romantic.”

“A major turning point?” Catra echoed. She didn’t really think her and Adora had any of those coming up.

“Yeah, like right before a battle for the end of the world!” Bow smiled enthusiastically, “Although I guess that doesn’t really apply here.”

“That’s pretty romantic, though,” Glimmer patted Bow’s shoulder, “But you have to wait to get swept up in the moment! You can’t just confess any old time, it has to be special!”

Catra rolled her eyes, “And how do I make it special?”

“Take her on a date!” Glimmer suggested.

“Buy her chocolates,” Bow added.

“Write a huge speech about how she’s the best person you’ve ever met and she’s the love of your life,” Glimmer was practically radiating excitement at this point, “We can help you write it!”

“Or you could do all three!” Bow said, with equal excitement, “Imagine going to a fancy dinner and then getting chocolates all while hearing a declaration of love!”

“Okay, one, I’m not proposing so no long winded declarations of my ‘everlasting love’ or whatever,” Catra shook her head firmly, “And two, what’s with the chocolates? That’s like a Valentine’s day thing.”

“You just don’t understand romance,” Bow crossed his arms.

“Oh, like you do?” Catra pointed out sarcastically. 

Glimmer nodded enthusiastically, either not picking up on or determinedly ignoring Catra’s sarcasm, “Yeah! Honestly, it doesn’t have to be chocolates, but it has to be something! The worst thing you could do is be unromantic! What if you do something super lame and every time someone asks Adora how you two got together it’s super embarrassing for her to tell the story?”

Catra hesitated. She didn’t really trust Bow and Glimmer’s advice anymore, but they had a point. She had never considered the fact that Adora might be self conscious about the way Catra asked her. But of course confessing had to be perfect! Adora deserved the best, after all.

“Okay, I get it. I’ll think of something memorable so she’s not ashamed of me,” Catra sighed. Large romantic gestures weren’t really her thing, but if it was for Adora, she would do it.

\---

They were home for the holidays which meant Catra and Adora were spending most of their time hiding from their parents by visiting their old childhood haunts. Which were really only the high school bleachers, the playground kids never used because there was a newer, safer one the next town over, and the ice cream parlor about a half hour drive away--the further from their parents the better--where they were on a first name basis with the owner. Honestly, Razz was more of a mother to them than either of their actual mothers, even if she was a little strange.

Catra was trying her best to never talk to her parents the entire break, so she had spent the majority of her time at Adora’s house. As a result, she witnessed many of Adora’s family arguments firsthand. Adora was, predictably, under a lot of pressure from her parents to change her major back. Every time, it took all of Catra’s strength to keep her from snapping at Adora’s parents for thinking they had the right to tell Adora what to do. They treated Adora like she was an idiot who needed other people to control her, but Adora was actually really smart if you just let her do the things she liked! The only thing stopping her from rushing to her friend’s aid was the threat of getting kicked out of Adora’s house and having to go next door and spend time talking to her own parents.

Between the two of them, they were doing a good job of limiting contact with parents. It meant they spend most of their day sitting on the bleachers or sitting in swings, but it was worth it to not be home. And Catra was again picking up on those signals that suggested Bow and Glimmer might be right. Their eye contact lingered for much longer than could be considered platonic and their hands were entwined more often than not and Adora even flirted back occasionally (although Catra doubted that was intentional). She just wished she knew what the fuck it meant. Did Adora want to kiss her or not? She asked Bow and Glimmer yet again because they obviously knew the answer, but they had stubbornly insisted they stayed out of it because they wanted the last step to “happen naturally.”

Whatever. Catra was going to do it anyways. She was going to take Adora out to Razz’s and confess. It was the perfect place to do it; they had spent some of the best moments of their childhood there and Razz very obviously thought they were cute.

So Adora and Catra were speeding down the highway at 1 pm blasting shitty pop from middle school and singing along at the top of their lungs. Catra really wished she had a better ride than her mom’s old minivan which barely went above 65 without protest, but beggars can’t be choosers. And it’s not like Adora minded.

They pulled into the parking lot of Razz’s Ice Cream in record time--definitely because they were driving on an off hour and not because Catra had a speeding issue--and got out of the car. Catra was actually really excited to see Razz. Because her and Adora weren’t talking all that much last summer, Catra had spent most of her summer at Scorpia’s house and therefore hadn’t been to the shop since she left for college.

They made their way inside, where they saw Razz standing behind the counter. The woman’s face lit up instantly as they walked up to the register to place their order.

“Well if it isn’t Catra and Adora!” She nodded at them approvingly, “It’s been over a year since I’ve seen either of you. I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about old Razz.”

“Oh come on, we would never forget about you, Razz,” Adora laughed.

Catra looked at her friend, “You didn’t come here last summer?”

Adora shook her head, “It just didn’t feel right to come here without you.”

“Well what matters is you’re here now!” Razz clapped her hands together in excitement, “I’m so glad you ladies have found your way back to Razz. What do you want?”

“You don’t remember our order?” Catra asked in mock offense. There was a time when she and Adora were at Razz’s twice a week. Sure, the old woman might be a little batty, but she definitely remembered their orders.

“Oh, it’s been so long since you’ve been here,” Razz said dramatically, “And I’m such an old woman. You’ll have to help me remember.”

“One large strawberry milkshake split into two glasses with extra whipped cream and two cherries,” Adora recited.

Razz smiled conspiratorially. “Oh, I’m sorry but we don’t have the small glasses anymore. I’ll have to give you your shake in one glass with two straws.”

“Really?” Catra asked flatly. She didn’t believe Razz for a minute.

“Of course! I would never lie to my favorite customers,” Razz said with a wink.

“That’s fine!” Adora said from beside Catra, a little too eager.

“Good girl,” Razz nodded, “I’ll get on that right away. Oh, and don’t worry about paying, darlings. It’s on the house.”

Razz winked at them again before walking away. Catra and Adora made their way to their usual booth next to the jukebox. Which neither of them ever used themselves, but Catra enjoyed trying to predict what songs the other customers were going to pick when they walked up to the machine. Although, there wasn’t anyone else in the shop right now.

They sat down and awkwardly waited for Razz to bring their milkshake out. Their single milkshake with two straws, which was definitely a couple thing. Catra both really wanted to talk about the implications of that with Adora and never mention it ever.

“You know, it’s kinda weird that we used to go here all the time and yet we’ve never used the jukebox,” Adora noted, looking at the machine wistfully.

“Do you want to?” Catra asked.

Adora nodded eagerly and gave Catra wide puppy dog eyes. Catra’s heart melted and she had to stop herself from leaning over and kissing Adora right then and there. There was no way Catra could say no to that, even though she wasn’t sure why Adora needed her permission.

“What are you waiting for then?” Catra laughed at Adora’s eagerness.

“You to give me quarters?” Adora suggested with a hesitant smile.

Catra looked at the machine, “I think it actually takes credit cards? Looks like Razz gave it a touch up.”

“Awesome! Let’s go!” Adora jumped out of her seat and went over to the jukebox. Catra followed behind her friend and put one arm around her shoulder and rested her head on Adora’s other shoulder, essentially draping herself off of Adora. Catra could see Adora flush at the contact as she swiped her card in the card reader. Then Adora started going through the different options.

“Any requests?” Adora asked.

“Whatever you want to listen to, princess,” Catra said quietly, conscious of the fact that she was literally right next to Adora’s ear.

“O...kay,” Adora stuttered before selecting a song.

Catra decided that she was perhaps a little too in Adora’s personal space so she unlinked her arm from around Adora and stepped back slightly. Adora turned around, looking almost offended that Catra had left.

“Do you want to dance?” Adora asked as the first notes of the song began playing. She extended her arm hopefully.

Catra did her best to shrug nonchalantly, “Sure.”

She wasn’t about to do some awkward slow dancing with an arm’s distance between them bullshit so she grabbed Adora and pulled the other girl flush against her before wrapping her arms around her waist. Adora hesitated for a moment before putting her hands on Catra’s lower back and pushing their bodies together with gentle pressure. Catra let her head rest on Adora’s shoulder as they began swaying to the music.

Which was a fucking love song. Seriously, Adora, “Unchained Melody”? Way to choose a song that hits close to home while simultaneously being a huge sap.

_Oh my love, my darling. I've hungered for your touch. A long, lonely time._

Catra wondered why Adora had chosen this song. Did she feel the same way? Was this her way of trying to tell Catra she had feelings for her?

_Time goes by so slowly. And time can do so much._

Adora shifted her head so that her face was buried in Catra’s hair. Catra tightened her grip around Adora’s waist, pulling their hips even closer together. Catra could hear the other girl’s breath hitch.

_I need your love. I need your love._

Catra moved her arms from Adora’s waist to her upper back, trying to pull her closer. They were barely moving, aside from a gentle rock back and forth. Both of them were just desperately holding on to the other, clinging to each other as if the other was going to let go.

_I'll be coming home, wait for me._

Adora was so warm. Catra closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the feeling of being completely surrounded by her friend. She could practically feel herself melting into the embrace, as if she belonged in Adora’s arms.

_I need your love. God speed your love to me._

The song ended with a final large note and the shop descended into silence again. For a moment, neither of them moved. Catra finally lifted her head off of Adora’s shoulder to look at the other girl in the eyes. Adora was looking back at her intensely. Catra could see the vivid blue of her friend’s eyes, deepened by the wideness of her pupil.

“Adora…” Catra started. She didn’t want to kiss her best friend without explaining her feelings first.

Adora tensed for a moment before letting go of Catra and stepping back, “Sorry! I guess I just didn’t notice the song ended.” The other girl laughed awkwardly before making her way back to their booth. Catra almost groaned. That would have been the perfect moment to confess. It even had a song built into it. How romantic.

Deciding not to push the issue when Adora clearly didn’t want to talk about it, Catra followed her back to the booth. There was a tense silence until Razz came over with the milkshake.

“Here you are, dearies,” Razz smiled at them, “Don’t drink this too quickly or you’ll get a brain freeze! We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

“No? I guess we wouldn’t,” Adora shrugged.

Razz winked at them as if her advice had some greater meaning, which if it did it was lost on Catra, before walking away.

“So, two straws,” Adora motioned to the shake in front of them, which, as promised, had two straws, “That’s very…”

“Romantic,” Catra finished for her pointedly.

“Oh, I was going to say old fashioned. But yeah, I guess it would be romantic in certain situations,” Adora shrugged. Was Adora seriously suggesting this moment wasn’t romantic after they slow danced to a love song that was playing on a jukebox? Catra was suddenly very nervous that she was yet again misinterpreting Adora’s signals.

“It’s probably more romantic if you choose to have two straws instead of having it forced on you by some crazy old lady,” Catra joked with a smile.

Adora laughed, “Yeah, it probably is.”

Catra made a move to grab the cherry from the top of the mountain of whipped cream, but Adora slapped her hand away.

“Catra!” Adora scolded.

“What? It’s a cherry! It’s edible, you know,” Catra crossed her arms.

“But there’s only one!” Adora motioned to the drink. Sure enough, Razz had only put one cherry on top.

“Oh? And I suppose you want it, don’t you princess?” Catra taunted. Adora nodded.

“Well too bad. You’re going to have to fight me for it,” Catra smirked before reaching for the cherry again. Always quick to react, Adora reached for the cherry at the same time and their hands collided, causing Catra to hit the mound of whipped cream, sending white splattering everywhere.

There was a decisive _thunk_ as the cherry hit the table. Adora and Catra stared at each other in shock, both with whipped cream splatters on their faces. Then Adora burst out laughing and Catra couldn’t help but laugh too.

Catra recovered from her laughing fit first, and she took the opportunity to really look at her best friend. She was absolutely radiant when she laughed, her smile wide and her eyes crinkled at the corners. She looked carefree and at peace, as if everything was right in the universe. She was bright and beautiful and completely untouchable in that moment. Adora was just so stunning that it almost hurt for Catra to look at her, as if her yearning were a physical sensation welling up in her chest. 

Catra realized she couldn’t do this. Not here, not tonight. Adora was too good for Catra; too warm and soft and caring. Catra had to make this confession perfect for Adora. She didn’t stand a chance if it wasn’t. What if she confessed and it wasn’t romantic enough for Adora and Adora rejected her? What if Adora never spoke to her again because it wasn’t the right moment? Catra could practically see Adora’s face falling the second Catra said the wrong thing, could see her ruining the happy bubble Adora was currently in. There was no way Catra could ruin this fragile moment with a careless, poorly planned confession.

“Well, I guess that’s one issue solved,” Adora said from across the table, now recovered from her laughing fit.

“What?” Catra looked at the other girl blankly, still in shock over her realization.

“You know, the cherry,” Adora motioned to the cherry that was now on the table, “We don’t have to fight over it anymore if neither of us get it.”

“True,” Catra nodded, “But you’re still going to have to fight me for the shake. One glass means I can drink it all before you get a chance.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Adora smiled before grabbing her straw. Both girls drank as quickly as possible, determined not to let the other have more. That is, until an aching pain shot through Catra.

“Oh fuck, brain freeze,” Catra leaned back and pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth in an attempt to make the pain stop.

Adora smirked at her from her spot drinking the shake--how she managed to look so attractive with a straw in her mouth was beyond Catra--until her face screwed up in pain and she too had to abandon her straw in favor of treating her brain freeze.

After a few moments of intense pain, both girls were back to normal. And Adora was smiling at Catra dumbly.

“What?” Catra asked as she felt the corners of her own mouth turn up involuntarily. She couldn’t help it; Adora’s smile was just too captivating.

“It’s just that Razz was right!” Adora pointed out, “I thought she was just being Razz but we did actually get a brain freeze.”

“I guess you’re right,” Catra shrugged, still smiling back at Adora with equal dumbness, “Honestly, I thought it was an innuendo.”

Adora cocked her head to the side, “An innuendo for what?”

“That’s what I was trying to figure out.”

They sat there in silence for a few moments, just smiling at each other. Catra was desperately trying to wipe the smile from her face, but every time she looked at Adora the other girl looked too happy and she was smiling again. She had known she had it so fucking bad for Adora, but this was somehow even worse than she had realized.

Finally, some guy in khakis walked over to the jukebox. Catra looked over to his, most likely, girlfriend who was sitting in another booth and sized both of them up. They looked basic and white.

“I bet he chooses Sweet Caroline,” Catra stage whispered to Adora.

Sure enough, a few moments after the man walked away, the first notes of “Sweet Caroline” started playing. Predictable.

“Wow, how do you do that? You get it right every time,” Adora looked at her, clearly impressed.

“Okay, well he was obviously a straight, white, man. And the khakis means he has no taste, so definitely a song sung by a white guy. And what song is more basic than Sweet Caroline?” Catra did her best to explain.

“Makes sense. So what about me?” Adora asked.

“What about you?”

“What song do you think I would choose? Did my choice surprise you?”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t have really pinned you for an Unchained Melody kind of girl,” Catra admitted.

“Why not?”

Catra made a dismissive motion with her hand, “It’s a love song. You’ve told me multiple times that you’re not interested in dating or romance right now. So why would you play something so…”

“Romantic,” Adora finished for her, much like Catra had done earlier, “Well I guess that even though I don’t want romance all that often, sometimes I do. If it’s with the right person.”

“The right person?” Catra echoed. Was Adora about to confess to _her?_

“Yeah, I guess,” Adora shrugged as if she hadn’t just shattered Catra’s world, “Anyways, what song did you think I would choose?”

Catra stopped to consider Adora for a moment. If Adora had been a stranger, Catra would probably have written her off as some basic white girl who would choose some Elvis song to get the energy up for her group of giggling friends. But Adora was more than a people pleaser once you got to know her. She was much goofier.

“Definitely something by the Beach Boys,” Catra finally settled on. A little more out there than Elvis, but not much.

“The Beach Boys?” Adora laughed.

“Oh come on, like you don’t love Surfin’ USA.”

That earned her another laugh from Adora, which launched them into a debate about what the best Beach Boys song was. Which slowly gave way to the best song on the jukebox, and which ended with them looking up song lyrics and passionately quoting them to each other in an attempt to prove the worth of their selected song. By the time they had finally managed to finish their milkshake, it was past dinner time. Adora’s parents were going to kill them, but Catra wouldn’t have traded the moment for anything. Except for maybe a hot jock girlfriend.

\---

A little more than a month into the semester and no closer to knowing how to go about confessing to Adora, Catra decided she should talk to someone who was actually in a relationship. Scorpia was really the only person she knew who had successfully asked someone out, so Catra clicked on the girl’s contact and took a deep breath.

“Hey, Scorpia, I need some help,” Catra said with a sigh after the other girl picked up.

 _Yeah, what’s up wildcat?_ Scorpia’s voice came from the phone, a little tinny and distorted but unmistakably Scorpia.

“It’s about Adora,” Catra began, “I’m trying to tell her how I feel and I just can’t figure out how to do it. Bow and Glimmer said it needed to be big and romantic, but I can’t think of anything good enough for her.”

 _Oh, you’re confessing! I’m so proud of you. This is such a big step for you._ Scorpia enthused.

“Well I’m trying to confess. I just need some more ideas.”

 _Okay! Ideas, ideas… Well, what about just telling her?_ Scorpia suggested.

“What do you mean, ‘just tell her?’” Catra demanded.

_You know, just sit down with her and tell her how you feel. Be open and honest. I know that’s something you struggle with, but you can do it!_

“Scorpia, I can’t just sit down with her and tell her how I feel! That’s not good enough!” Catra insisted.

_Why not? The most important thing is talking about your feelings. It doesn’t matter when or where or how you do it, as long as you get the point across._

Catra scoffed, “Says the girl who literally confessed on the top of a Ferris Wheel during sunset.”

_Yeah, but you don’t have to do something like that._

“How do you know? Have you ever confessed any other way?”

_Okay, did I confess in a very cliche way? Yes. Did it work for me? Also yes. But have any other ways worked for me? Well, actually no. But that’s just because Perfuma was the first person I confessed to!_

“This is not helping, Scorpia.” Catra groaned.

_Okay, well, do you want to hear the full story of what happened?_

“Sure, why not?”

 _Okay, so I didn’t go in with any plans of confessing. I wasn’t even thinking of doing it that day! I just wanted to spend time with her, you know? But we were on that Ferris Wheel and the light hit her just right and she looked absolutely gorgeous. So I told her she looked beautiful and then she said that_ I _look beautiful. Me! Can you believe it?_ Scorpia sounded giddy at the idea of Perfuma calling her beautiful.

“You’re an attractive woman, Scorpia, so yes I can believe that.”

_Awe, thanks Catra. Anyways, she said I looked beautiful--wow, I’m still not over that--and then I said ‘I think you’re an amazing person and I really like you. Will you be my girlfriend?’ And, as you know, she said yes! And then we kissed. And then we kissed a bunch more. Like, there was a lot of kissing. So much kissing, actually. Like, if kisses were--_

“Yeah, okay, I get it. So what’s your point?”

_My point is, was the location and timing cliche? Yes. But that’s not what mattered. Perfuma didn’t say yes because I asked her at the right moment or said the right thing, she said yes because she likes me too. So as long as Adora likes you back, it doesn’t matter how or when or where you confess, it just matters that you’re honest and open._

Catra swallowed, “So… just be like ‘hey Adora, I like you as more than a friend. Do you wanna date?’ That’s it?”

 _Pretty much. I mean, you could throw in a compliment there if you want but there’s no need to get too fancy with it._ Catra heard a muffled voice on the other side of the line. _Yeah, that’s a good point, babe. Perfuma says the most important thing with Adora is that you’re explicit with what you want. Don’t leave any room for ambiguity. Be direct._

“Direct?” Catra echoed uncertainty.

 _Catra, you’re going to have to say the words ‘do you want to be my girlfriend?’ Anything else and she won’t get it._ Perfuma’s voice came from Catra’s phone. _Trust me, I’ve heard her talking about you long enough to know that much. Adora is an intelligent and talented woman, but she does not pick up on signals well._

Catra laughed bitterly, “Believe me, I know.”

 _So yeah, I think that’s the best advice we can give you!_ Scorpia’s voice came from the phone again. _You can do this, wildcat. I believe in you!_

 _You and Adora are perfect for each other_ Perfuma agreed.

“Thanks you two. I’ll let you know how it goes,” Catra said before hanging up. Their advice was actually pretty good, and it was a relief to know that Adora wouldn’t say no just because the situation wasn’t romantic enough. But she did take issue with the emotionally vulnerable aspect of Scorpia’s approach. At least a large, romantic gesture like Bow and Glimmer suggested were less personal than putting her entire soul out there for Adora to inspect.

Catra was snapped out of her internal brainstorming session when she saw a giant cockroach walking across the wall. It was easily the biggest cockroach she had ever seen, and it looked like it had wings. Catra did her best not to think about what would happen if the stupid thing started flying at her.

Normally, Catra was pretty good with bugs. Yeah, they creeped her out and she thought they were gross, but when the need arose she could kill a bug. But Adora was in the next room, and Catra really wanted to see how she would react.

“HOLY FUCK ADORA GET IN HERE,” Catra yelled in her most distressed voice possible.

Adora’s door opened in record time, and the other girl sprinted to Catra’s spot on the couch with concern on her face. “Catra? What’s wrong?”

“There’s a cockroach!” Catra pointed to the wall with a shaky hand.

“Ew,” Adora said, clearly hesitating at the sight of the hideous bug, which was currently sitting in the same place on the wall.

Until it moved a few steps up. 

“Adora! Kill it!” Catra scrambled from her spot on the couch to behind Adora, using the other girl as a human shield in case that monstrosity started flying.

“With what?” Adora scanned the room, obviously looking for the best thing to smash a bug.

“I don’t care! Just grab something!”

Adora finally settled on grabbing one of Catra’s high heels from their spot on the ground next to the couch and hit the bug with what must have been an insane amount of force. There was a dull “thump” before the sound of crumbling.

“Adora, did you just…?” Catra stared at the wall, which was still obscured by her very nice, very expensive, shoe in curiosity. That noise had sounded suspiciously like the crunch of drywall.

“No, there’s no way,” Adora said, obviously trying to reassure herself. She pulled the shoe away from the wall, and sure enough there was a hole in the wall, about the size of the base of Catra’s stiletto.

“Holy shit, Adora,” Catra smiled at her friend. The other girl had never quite understood the extent of her own strength, and now was no different.

“Oh my god! Catra I’m sooo sorry,” Adora turned to look at Catra in shock, “I don’t even know how that happened! I promise I’ll pay for the security deposit. And for anything else they need to fix it. I cannot believe that just happened.”

Catra laughed. When she moved in with Adora she knew there was a very real possibility that a wall would get punched in or something would get broken. The other girl was just like that. She was honestly surprised that it had taken this long for something like this to happen.

“Adora, chill. It’s fine, you don’t have to apologize.”

Adora looked at her, unconvinced, “I don’t?”

Catra shook her head, “Nah. I’m just impressed that you were so eager to save me from the evil cockroach that you literally put a hole in the wall. It was actually really hot.” Wow, that was a shitty line, even for her.

Adora froze and looked at her for a few seconds, as if trying to decipher something. Catra did her best to maintain the grin on her face, although it felt like Adora was staring into her soul.

“Catra, did you just…?” Adora started before trailing off.

“Did I just what?” Catra encouraged.

“You know,” Adora made a vague motion with her hand, a confused look on her face, “Did you just… um… you know?”

“No, I do not know.” Catra played dumb. And she was honestly a little confused. The other girl wasn’t seriously asking if Catra was flirting, right? Because Catra had been doing that for months.

Adora made a frustrated noise before taking a deep breath, “Catra, did you, um, did you just _flirt_ with me?”

 _Holy shit, this entire time she hasn’t even noticed I was flirting with her?_ Catra burst out into laughter. _Of course_ Adora wouldn’t be able to recognize signs of attraction as anything but being nice. The other girl had spent her entire life denying herself happiness and convincing herself that she didn’t want things, so _of course_ she would ignore all the signs.

“Oh, okay then,” Adora laughed nervously as Catra leaned on the couch’s armrest for support, “I guess not then. Sorry for assuming?”

“Oh Adora, you gorgeous idiot,” Catra said as she caught her breath. She wiped a tear from her eye as she finally stood up to her full height. And then tilted her head up slightly to look Adora in the eye. God she wished she was wearing those heels right about now.

“What?” Adora looked confused and defensive. Which was fair, because she probably felt like Catra was rejecting her right now.

“I’ve been flirting with you for, oh I don’t know, a few months now?” Catra smirked at Adora as the other girl gaped at her in shock, “Glad you finally got with the program though.”

“Months?” Adora gaped at her.

“Well, I’ve been _intentionally_ flirting with you for months. I’ve probably been accidentally flirting with you for much longer than that,” Catra admitted.

“Why?” Came Adora’s next question.

“Jee, Adora, I wonder,” Catra rolled her eyes sarcastically, “Maybe it’s because I hate you.”

“Catra you’re giving me a lot of mixed signals right now.” That was Adora speak for _holy shit Catra just stop avoiding your emotions and get to the fucking point._ Or maybe it was Adora speak for _no one has ever explicitly shown romantic interest in me so I have genuinely no idea what to do now that someone has._ It was probably a little bit of both.

Catra sighed. Adora deserved a real confession, and she was going to do her best to give it to her. “Adora, I like you as more than a friend. I have for years now. And I should have said something about it sooner, but up until recently I thought you were straight so I tried to ignore it.”

“You… you _like_ me?” Adora echoed, the bug stained high heel in her hand long forgotten.

Catra nodded and took a deep breath before continuing. She hadn’t been rejected yet. “Yeah, I like you. A lot. I tried to hide it because I thought you didn’t like me back, but then you got jealous of my dates and you said we were closer than a couple during game night and you pinned me to that wall during laser tag and you told that woman on the boardwalk that we were a couple so I thought you might like me back?”

Adora just smiled at her for somewhere between a moment and an eternity before shaking her head, as if to clear it, “OH! Right. You need an answer! Yes, Catra, I like you as more than a friend too. I don’t know for how long, but I didn’t realize until after we went to Whispering Woods and that woman thought we were a couple. But it’s definitely been longer than that.”

Catra felt relief rush through her. Along with an uncontrollable joy. Catra smiled at Adora widely, “Hey, Adora? Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

“Yes!” Adora nodded enthusiastically, before dropping Catra’s shoe on the ground, stepping forward, and pulling Catra into a hug. Catra let herself feel safe in Adora’s arms as she buried her face in the junction of her neck and shoulder. It felt so _right_ , to just be close to Adora like that.

“Adora?” Catra said after a few moments, as she pulled back her face to look at her new _girlfriend_ in the eyes.

Adora hummed in affirmation as she looked back at Catra. Their faces were so close, just like at Razz’s. But now Adora knew how Catra felt, and Catra knew Adora felt the same. Suddenly, everything was different.

“Can I kiss you?” Catra asked as she brought a hand up to cup Adora’s face and allowed her thumb to gently stroke her cheek.

“Yes,” Adora whispered, as if afraid being any louder would break the moment.

And then Catra closed her eyes and leaned up and Adora leaned down to meet her. And then Adora’s lips were against hers, soft and uncoordinated but undeniably firm and _Adora._ And then they separated and Adora looked at Catra as if she was seeing her for the first time.

And as far as kisses go, it wasn’t particularly earth shattering. It was short and overeager and sloppy. But what it meant, what it changed for their relationship filled Catra with an overwhelming feeling of joy. The fact that it was Adora she had just kissed made her feel complete; like everything was right with the world. After ten or so years of pining, Catra had finally made her way home.

Adora smiled at her dumbly before leaning in again, joining their lips for a second kiss. Catra let herself relax in Adora’s arms as the taller girl sighed against her contentedly. When they pulled apart this time, Catra rested their foreheads together and looked up at Adora fondly.

“That was my first kiss,” Adora admitted.

Catra figured as much. Who else would Adora have even kissed? “Did you like it?”

“Yeah,” Adora’s smile widened as she giggled, as if she had just told some huge secret, “Did you?”

“Of course I did, princess. It was with you,” Catra mirrored Adora’s smile, not caring if it made her look like a lovestruck idiot. Because that’s what she was.

“I’m so happy,” Adora broke their brief silence.

“Me too,” Catra moved one of her arms from where it was wrapped around Adora to entwine their fingers fondly. Adora moved from her position in front of Catra to sit on the couch, using their interlaced fingers to guide Catra to sit next to her. Catra happily sat next to Adora and slung her legs over Adora’s. She looped her free arm around Adora’s neck and let her head rest on Adora’s shoulder.

“So, we’re dating?” Adora asked, wrapping her free arm around Catra’s midsection and pulling her closer.

“Yep,” Catra confirmed.

“And you’re my girlfriend?” Adora asked as she let her head rest gently on top of Catra’s.

“Yeah, I’m your girlfriend,” Catra smiled at the word, “There’s no getting rid of me now, princess.”

Adora pulled Catra closer to her, “Catra, I would never want to get rid of you.”

“God you’re such a sap,” Catra lifted her head to kiss Adora’s cheek fondly. 

“I’m _your_ sap,” Adora pointed out before bursting into laughter.

Catra laughed with her, never wanting to let the moment go; she felt so safe and content. She belonged in this moment, here with Adora, so stupidly in love she couldn’t think about anything other than the way Adora was looking at her. 

After they were done laughing, they descended into a peaceful silence. Catra let her head fall back onto Adora’s shoulder. Her eyes scanned their living room, from the armchair next to the couch to their old TV to her bug stained high heel abandoned on the ground.

“Hey, Adora?” Catra said lazily.

“What?”

“Did you use my Gucci heels to kill a cockroach?”

Adora, who had been lazily rubbing circles on the back of Catra’s hand, froze. “Those were Gucci?”

“Yep,” Catra let the “p” pop for extra emphasis, “See how it says ‘Gucci’ right there on the sole?”

“I thought they were knockoffs! How did you even afford those?” Adora said, distress evident in her voice.

“They were a graduation present from my grandma. I had asked for boots but apparently that wasn’t feminine enough for her,” Catra shrugged. It’s not like she was particularly attached to the shoes or anything, her grandma did kind of suck after all, but they were black heels so she wore them a fair amount. Would it have killed Adora to use literally anything else to squash that bug?

“Well, to answer your question, yeah, I may have… you know, just used your designer shoe to kill a bug,” Adora looked at Catra sheepishly.

Catra sighed, “So now it’s covered in bug guts?”

“Sorry,” Adora winced, “Let me make it up to you?”

Catra laughed, “And how are you going to do that?”

Adora smiled at her before gently cupping her jaw and angling her head back. Then she leaned in and joined their lips in a third kiss, this one lingering longer than the other two. Catra hummed contentedly into the kiss, high heel long forgotten.

“You’re forgiven,” Catra declared when they separated, “But you’re also going to clean the guts off of my shoe.”

“Okay, babe,” Adora smiled at her and Catra decided that everything was finally how it was supposed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that only took like 58k words! In all seriousness though, thank you guys for sticking through it up to here. Slow burn is the best kind of torture, but it's still torture :)
> 
> I don't know if Gucci even sells black heels, I just feel like Adora is the kind of person who would use a designer shoe to kill a bug and thought it was funny. I choose Gucci because of an inside joke with my friends (which is stupid because none of them will ever read this) and because it's like one of three designers I know off the top of my head.
> 
> As a side note, my classes are starting soon so I *might* start posting more irregularly. Hopefully I'll be done with everything before things start getting intense. The next chapter will be up sometime next Saturday though!


	13. Paddleboarding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know my timeline technically has this in late February/early March so it would definitely be too cold for paddleboarding, but I think it's cute so I actually don't care.
> 
> Also, thank you all so much for your support in the last chapter! As a slow burn writer, I'm always concerned about my confession scenes because there's so much buildup and anticipation, so if it isn't good it kind of ruins the whole thing. So it was very encouraging to hear that you all liked it :)

[From: Best Friends Squad 💕 ✨ 👑 ]

>>[Glimmer ✨] Omg guess who got together last night!!!!!!!!!

<<Wait what?

<<How did you know that?

<<Did Catra tell you??

>>[Glimmer ✨] I was talking about me and Bow…

<<OH

<<Congrats guys!! I’m so happy for you

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Wait, did Catra tell us what?

<<That we’re together too!

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Omg yesss

[Bow 💖 💛 added GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 to the chat]

>>[Glimmer ✨] I can’t believe this

>>[Glimmer ✨] The day Catra finally gets her shit together and confesses and it’s the same day I confess

>>[Glimmer ✨] Seriously would it have killed her to wait one (1) more day????? 😡 😡

<<Lmao I don’t think she was planning on confessing

>>[GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 ] Yeah I wasn’t so get off my ass Sparkles

>>[Glimmer ✨] I will not “get off your ass” when you didn’t even bother to coordinate confessions!

>>[GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 ] It’s not my fucking fault you waited so long to confess 

>>[GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 ] I clearly told you to make a move after the formal. 

>>[GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 ] If anything this whole mess is your fault

>>[Glimmer ✨] Um excuse me but I’m not the one who harbored emotions for my best friend for ten years and didn’t say anything! You should have confessed ages ago!

<<TEN YEARS?????

>>[GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 ] Okay first off you were pining for a long time too so don’t get all holier than thou on me

>>[GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 ] But youre right I was pining for longer which means I had the right of way

>>[GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 ] Adora, babe, I can’t believe we have to share an anniversary with those idiots now

<<I don’t really mind…

<<Also: Catra, TEN YEARS??

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] It’s kind of cute in a friendship way!

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Oooh we could do double dates every year to celebrate

>>[Glimmer ✨] Absolutely not

>>[GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 ] Adora can we break up and get back together tomorrow?

>>[GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 ] Wait no, that’s giving in. 

>>[GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 ] Sparkles and Arrow, can you break up and get back together tomorrow?

>>[Glimmer ✨] Not a fucking chance

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] It’s really not that big of a deal

<<^^ But you know what is a big deal?

<<The amount of time that Catra was supposedly pining over me

<<Which, in case anyone was curious, is apparently TEN YEARS

>>[GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 ] Well I think the anniversary thing is a big deal that should be discussed in more detail right now

<<Catra

<<Don’t make me come over there

>>[GIRLFRIEND!! 😻 😘 ] And do what? Pin me to the bed?

>>[Glimmer ✨] Gross

<<Maybe I will

>>[Glimmer ✨] No sexting in the group chat!!

Adora walked over to Catra’s room and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Catra’s voice came from inside. Adora opened the door to find Catra lounging on her bed, frantically typing on her phone. Probably still arguing with Glimmer.

“Here to pin me to the bed, princess?” Catra looked up from her phone with a smirk. Adora hesitated for a moment before realizing that she _could_ pin Catra to the bed and it wouldn’t be weird because they were dating. Right?

“Yeah,” Adora nodded before climbing onto Catra’s bed. Catra looked at her with surprise as Adora gently grabbed her phone from her hands and set it on the bedside table.

Then Adora went for Catra’s shoulders but Catra must have seen it coming because she rolled out of the way, leaving Adora awkwardly sprawled over half of Catra’s body. Catra let out a playful shriek as she shimmied out from underneath Adora. Adora did her best to prop herself up so she could go for Catra again, but Catra was faster and before she knew it she was being shoved back onto the bed and Catra was using her body weight to hold Adora down. 

“Catra, did you seriously have a crush on me for ten years?” Adora asked as she started up at her girlfriend.

“I don’t think you’re in the position to be asking questions right now,” Catra smirked. And wow, Adora was still getting used to the concept of arousal but that definitely did it for her.

Adora raised an eyebrow before grabbing Catra’s hips and flipping them. Catra let out an indignant noise as her back hit the bed. Adora applied gentle pressure to the other girl’s shoulders as she hovered over her. She didn’t want to crush Catra or anything. Catra stared up at Adora with a fond smile.

“Ten years?” Adora asked again.

Catra sighed, “Yeah, ten years. Don’t let it get to your head or anything.”

The other girl looked a little vulnerable, as if the length of her crush was embarrassing to her. Adora wanted to comfort Catra, so she leaned down and kissed her. “I can’t believe we could have been doing this for ten years. If only I had figured it out sooner. I’m such an idiot.”

“It’s not your fault. We were such sheltered kids. Shit like that happens,” Catra wrapped her arms around Adora and encouraged Adora to lay by Catra’s side. Adora went willingly and nuzzled at the side of Catra’s throat. She loved just being _close_ to Catra.

Catra’s fingers found Adora’s hair and she gently stroked it. Adora sighed at the feeling of Catra’s nails lightly brushing her scalp and at the light pull whenever Catra would stroke downward. It just felt so nice.

“So we both like each other,” Adora said into the silence of the bedroom.

“Yup,” Catra nodded as she continued to play with Adora’s hair.

“So now what?”

Catra shifted her body so they were no longer on top of each other but were instead face to face lying next to each other. Adora turned to look the other girl in the eye as she responded, “We date? Was the conversation last night not clear enough for you?”

“No, I got the whole girlfriends part,” Adora smiled dumbly as she felt a rush of joy after using the word ‘girlfriends’, “But what do girlfriends _do?_ ”

Catra smirked and not so subtly checked Adora out before opening her mouth to make what was likely going to be a very sexual comment. 

“Other than sex,” Adora amended quickly.

Catra rolled her eyes but didn’t seem offended. “Well they go on dates?”

“Okay, but we kind of already do that,” Adora pointed out.

“Adora, we have never been on a date,” Catra argued.

“Okay, well maybe not a _date_ date,” Adora crossed her arms, “But like… What are some common first dates?”

Catra thought a moment before responding. “Well, I guess brunch is a pretty common one? Or like ice cream. Or really anything that involves food, now that I think about it. Although I think Scorpia took Perfuma stargazing for their first official date.”

“Okay, and what would your ideal date be?”

“I don’t know I never really thought about it,” Catra sighed, “I guess maybe an aquarium date? Or something competitive like laser tag would be fun too. Nothing says ‘I like you’ like kicking someone’s ass.”

“Catra, we have literally done all of the things you just listed within the past year.”

“Holy shit,” Catra looked at Adora with wide eyes, “No wonder everyone thought we were dating.”

“Yeah,” Adora agreed, “But what do we do now? How do we go on dates without making it a friend thing?”

“I have an answer but you’re not going to like it,” Catra said.

Adora glared at the other girl. “We are not having sex after every thing we do together just to make it a relationship thing.”

“Just an idea,” Catra shrugged, “But in all seriousness, sex doesn’t make a relationship.”

“Then what does?” Adora wondered. She didn’t actually know all that much about relationships, now that she thought about it. But it was a relief to know that Catra wasn’t just in it for sex. Adora was still getting used to kissing and while she thought maybe she wanted to be more intimate with Catra, it was weird for her to think about. It was a new set of sensations that she was going to have to get used to on her own before she was comfortable doing anything with Catra.

Catra hesitated, “I honestly don’t know. I’ve never actually been in one. I’m pretty sure mutual respect is a big deal though.”

“We respected each other when we were friends though,” Adora countered.

“Okay, well what do you want out of this? Out of us?”

It was Adora’s turn to hesitate. She had no idea what she wanted. She had spent ten or so years of her life in complete denial and had just spent the past two months doing her best to not think of Catra in any romantic situations. “I just want you to be happy.”

“Bullshit,” Catra shot back, “You have wants, Adora. You have to; everyone does.”

“Yeah well my want is for you to be happy,” Adora argued. As long as Adora could be the one making Catra happy, she was fine with it.

Catra pouted, “Fine, if you won’t answer my question then I guess I’ll go first. I want to hold your hand in public and introduce you as my girlfriend whenever we meet people.”

There was a silence as Catra obviously waited for Adora to continue. Adora thought about the little things she had wanted to do with Catra for as long as she could remember. “I want to hold your hand too. And I want to hug you and give you my jacket when you get cold.”

“I want to wear your jacket even when it’s not cold, just because I can. Especially to your games, because every time you score a goal I want to be that obnoxious bitch that screams ‘that’s my girlfriend!’ Oh, and I want you to give me a celebratory kiss,” Catra continued with a smile.

Adora nodded, “Yeah, I’ll kiss you after I score. But only if we can go out for milkshakes afterwards and have one with two straws like at Razz’s.”

“I’ll pay for after game milkshakes if it’s just the two of us. And if you tell me I’m pretty, like, all the time.”

“Catra, you _are_ pretty,” Adora insisted, which made Catra smile, “And I’ll tell you until you get tired of hearing it. I want to listen to you talk about cyclohexenes or ribosomes or whatever it is you’re learning about in class.”

“Okay, dork, I’ll teach you about chemistry,” Catra playfully shoved Adora’s shoulder, “but you better tell me about that syntax class you’re taking. And we’re helping each other study for midterms.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Adora agreed, “If I can be your date to the STEM major’s movie night.”

“You can hang with my friends if I can hang with your friends,” Catra amended, “What? Bow and Glimmer are growing on me.”

Adora beamed at Catra. She knew she could do it, “I knew you actually knew their names!”

“What? No I don’t!” Catra said defensively, “That was just a lucky guess.”

“Okay, a likely story. So one thing with friends each week. But only if we can cuddle afterwards and watch wildlife documentaries.”

“We can cuddle whenever you want, princess. And we should do one thing just the two of us each week.”

“ _At least_ one thing just the two of us. I want to spend as much time with you as possible,” Adora said, realizing that maybe she did have needs.

“Yeah? What do you want to do?” Catra asked quietly.

“All the stuff we’ve been doing, but it’ll be more special now because we’re special to each other. I want it to feel special when we’re together.”

“Every day I’m going to tell you how special you are until it gets through that thick skull of yours,” Catra joked, “And I’ll do my best to trust you and be open and talk to you when something bothers me or when I’m having a really bad day.”

“And I’ll listen to you and I’ll trust you and tell you when things bother me. Because we’re a team, right? No more working against each other?” Adora asked. She wanted to be a united force with Catra.

Catra nodded, with a happy expression on her face, “Yeah, we’ll be a team. See? I told you you wanted things.”

“Yeah, I guess I do,” Adora agreed before reaching down and grabbing Catra’s hand.

“And, Adora?” Catra squeezed Adora’s hand back, “For the record, we don’t have to have sex. Like, ever. I know you’ve said you don’t really been questioning a lot lately and I don’t want you to feel like you have to have sex with me if that’s not something you’re into.”

“But don’t you want to have sex?” Adora knew for a fact that Catra experienced sexual attraction and had a sex drive.

“I mean, yeah, if you want to I’d love to have sex with you,” Catra agreed, “But I don’t want to have sex with you if you’re uncomfortable with it. If you decide that’s something you’re not interested in at all, we’ll work it out. Please don’t feel like you have to force yourself to do anything you won’t enjoy.”

Adora let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She had been stressed about what Catra expected from her and how she would react when she found out Adora didn’t want to do that right now. She had been worried Catra would take it as some form of rejection, but now that she had heard from Catra that it was okay if they took it slow, she felt better. “Okay, let’s take it slow. Thanks, Catra.”

\---

“Okay, Catra, I’ve been thinking” Adora announced over breakfast the next day, “I think we should go paddleboarding at Lake Krytis for our first official date.”

Catra looked up from her textbook, “Paddleboarding? Have you ever been?”

“Nope! But Mermista says it’s super fun and you’d probably be really good at it because you have amazing balance,” Adora justified. She had been putting some thought into this because she wanted their first date--and her first date ever!--to be special. She knew it would be a hard sell because Catra didn’t like swimming, but she thought it could be really fun.

“Isn’t paddleboarding kind of wet?” Catra asked carefully, obviously trying to not shoot Adora down immediately. Which Adora appreciated.

“Well yeah, but only if you fall in! Which, again, shouldn’t be a problem for you because of how well you can balance,” Adora argued. She had already thought of that.

“Yeah, I guess I _would_ be pretty good at it,” Catra said, clearly trying to think of another reason why they shouldn’t go.

“Oh, come on, Catra,” Adora teased, “Don’t you want to see me in a swimsuit? I just bought a new bikini.”

Catra hesitated for a moment as she looked Adora over, putting on a big show of thinking it over. “Okay, I’m listening. Do you want to go today?”

_Ha. And Catra always says I’m the predictable one._ “Yeah, otherwise we’d have to wait until next weekend. We can rent boards by the hour, so as long as we’re there about an hour before sunset it should be okay.”

“Sounds good. Let’s go later this afternoon,” Catra suggested.

Adora spent the majority of her day trying to focus on her homework. She enjoyed her classes much more than she did her old business classes, which was already reflected in her grades, but she was understandably distracted by the thought of going on a date later that day. Finally, it was time to get ready. Adora searched through her closet for her new swimsuit, which was buried far back in one of her drawers because she hadn’t used it yet.

Adora put on her swimsuit before looking at herself in the mirror. She had bought the suit on impulse and with a lot of encouragement from a tipsy Glimmer in the background. It was much more revealing than she would usually pick--she usually picked one piece suits--but Catra would probably like it. The top had a v that highlighted her cleavage and the matching bottom hugged her butt really well. And the royal blue of the suit brought out her eyes. She looked really good.

She threw a shirt and shorts over the suit for her walk over, grabbed a towel and some sunglasses, and made her way back to the living room. Catra was standing there with her towel, a hat, and a pout.

“I was promised a bikini,” Catra looked over Adora’s clear lack of bikini with resentment.

“And you’ll get a bikini. At the lake,” Adora laughed. Did Catra seriously expect her to go on the subway in just a bikini?

“Fair. Also, this is for you,” Catra extended the hat to Adora, which she took with confusion, “Because you’re so painfully white and I know you didn’t bother to put on sunscreen.”

Adora smiled. Her girlfriend was so thoughtful. “Awe, you care about me!”

“Nah. I just don’t want anyone thinking I’m dating a lobster,” Catra shrugged before kissing Adora on the cheek.

“But I’d be your lobster,” Adora joked.

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Catra rolled her eyes fondly, “Let’s just go. I’m ready to beat you at paddleboarding.”

“It’s not a competition,” Adora pointed out as they left their apartment.

Catra made a dismissive motion with her hand, “Yeah, but I could still kick your ass.”

On the subway, they decided whoever fell in more times had to cook dinner that night. Which was probably a bad decision because Catra was considerably better at cooking than Adora, and Adora was probably going to fall in more. But Catra had said that Adora needed to spend more time cooking; according to her, Adora’s incompetence in the kitchen was due to the fact that her parents never let her cook during high school.

Once at Lake Krytis they rented their boards and got ready to go out. Adora stripped off her outerwear and put it in a locker. She turned to grab Catra’s stuff from her, but she just found the other girl not so subtly staring at her.

“What?” Adora asked, suddenly self conscious. It had been a long time since Catra had seen her in something as revealing as this bikini.

“Nothing, you’re just really hot,” Catra said with one of those smiles that let Adora know she was being genuine.

Adora smiled back dumbly and giggled. Catra thought she was hot! Catra was still interested in her! “Thanks!”

“Oh my god, I’ve been calling you hot for _months_ and now you decide to react?” Catra asked, exasperated. 

“Well, it’s different now that I know that you think of me like that,” Adora justified.

Catra nodded, “Sure, princess.”

“So are you planning on paddleboarding in those?” Adora asked, motioning to Catra’s clothes. It seemed a little overly confident of Catra to go paddleboarding in jeans, but then again, Adora wouldn’t put it past her.

“No. Give me a sec,” Catra said before pulling her shirt over her head.

Adora watched as Catra stripped off her shirt and pants, revealing her red bikini underneath. The red contrasted beautifully with her darker skin tone, and Adora could see all of the lean muscles of Catra’s body. She let her eyes linger for a few moments; this was the first time she had seen Catra in anything revealing since the formal and she was still getting used to how it made her feel.

“Enjoying the show?” Catra quipped.

Adora decided to take a page out of Catra’s book, “Well it would be hard not to when you’re so attractive.”

Catra gaped at her for a few moments, and Adora took the opportunity to smile smugly at her. Turns out Catra wasn’t immune to getting flustered, either.

“Look at you, learning how to flirt,” Catra finally said, “Too bad it won’t keep you from losing our competition.”

“Oh, it’s so on Catra,” Adora said confidently before making her way to the dock and putting her board in the water. Catra followed on her own board as Adora knelt on her board and pushed off of the dock.

They paddled to the center of the lake on their knees, neither of them wanting to be the first to make the transition to standing. Besides, Adora was still having fun on her knees. The lake was clear and there was a family of ducks a few feet away.

Adora turned to look at Catra, who was smiling at the family of ducks. Catra loved baby animals, and these ducks were obviously no exception. Then Catra turned to face her.

“What are you smiling at?” Catra asked.

“Nothing, you just look cute,” Adora laughed.

Catra pouted, “I’m not cute! I’m intimidating.”

“Yeah, you’re so intimidating you can’t even stand up on a paddleboard,” Adora pointed out.

“Tough talk for someone who hasn’t stood up either,” Catra crossed her arms.

“If I stand up will you stand up?” Adora asked. She wasn’t going to stand up if Catra didn’t because then she would definitely lose their competition.

Catra thought for a few seconds before responding, “Yeah, but only if you stand up first.”

“Deal,” Adora agreed before trying to stand up. It was difficult on such a wobbly surface, especially when she had to hold onto her paddle as well. She finally gave up on that and rested the paddle at the front of her board before coming to a shaky crouch. After giving herself a few moments to stabilize, she stood up to her full height. She was wobbly, but she was definitely standing.

“Oh my God, you should see yourself! You look so scared,” Adora could hear Catra laughing from her board. Adora turned to glare at Catra, but a gust of wind hit them at the same time and sent Adora flailing over the edge and into the water. 

Adora gasped as she resurfaced, shocked by the cold of the water. Above her, she could hear Catra laughing again from her dry perch on her board. Adora did her best to glare at her, but her girlfriend was so cute when she laughed; the way her nose scrunched up and her smile got brighter and how she snorted occasionally. Adora just watched her for a few moments before seeing her own board drift away out of the corner of her eye.

Deciding to get revenge, Adora swam over to Catra’s board. Catra had finally recovered from laughing and was now redoing her ponytail.

“Was the swim worth it, princess?” Catra teased.

“Yeah, totally,” Adora nodded as she hoisted herself up onto Catra’s board. She let her feet dangle in the water on either side, deciding that was the most stable way for her to sit. Catra raised an eyebrow at her as she ran her fingers through her wild hair, obviously unconvinced.

“Hey, you’re really pretty,” Adora said quietly. The way the light from the lake hit Catra brought out her natural skin tone and made her eyes sparkle. The gentle breeze had fluffed out her hair in a way Adora was sure would be a pain to detangle but also managed to be incredibly attractive. And thanks to her bikini, Adora could see the lean muscles of her legs and abdomen flexing to keep them balanced.

Catra dropped her hands from her now secured ponytail and leaned forward. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, you’re like the prettiest person I’ve ever met,” Adora leaned forward and cupped Catra’s cheek. Catra leaned in and joined their lips. When they separated, Adora let her hands wrap around Catra’s waist and she lightly pulled the other girl closer to her.

“But you know what I think would make you even prettier?” Adora asked.

“What?” Catra looked up at her, obviously a little offended.

“If you were soaking wet,” Adora said before leaning to the side and pulling Catra over the edge of the board with her. Adora could hear Catra screaming her name before her head went underwater. Next thing she knew she was treading water with a very angry Catra right next to her.

“Adora, what the fuck!” Catra yelled.

Adora couldn’t help but laugh. Catra was so dramatic. “Well, you were afraid to fall in, but now you’re here! It’s really not that bad, is it?”

“Well I’m about to make it bad,” Catra announced before splashing Adora in the face and swimming over to her board.

“Catra!” Adora called after her as she recovered from the other girl’s attack. Luckily, she was a stronger swimmer and she was able to reach Catra before she had made it fully on her board. She grabbed Catra’s ankle and pulled her back down.

“Adora!” Catra yelled again, but this time it was with a laugh. Now that the initial shock of falling in had worn off, Adora could tell that Catra was enjoying herself.

“Oh, come on Catra. You’re going to have to be faster than that,” Adora reached around Catra to push her board farther away.

Catra’s smile turned from carefree to competitive, “Oh, it’s on princess. First one to their board does the other’s laundry this week.”

“I hope you like washing workout clothes,” Adora taunted before swimming over to her board. But Catra grabbed onto her shoulders as she passed, which weighed her down considerably. She flailed in an attempt to get Catra off, which only caused the other girl to hold on tighter.

Adora was glad that there were very few other people on the lake that day as her and Catra roughhoused. She would manage to dislodge herself from Catra and start making a break for it only to have Catra grab on to some part of her waist or leg and then the process of getting herself free began again. The sound of shrieks and carefree laughter definitely earned them a few glares from the couple picnicking on the lake’s edge, but Adora didn’t care.

Eventually, Adora did manage to break free from Catra for long enough to swim back to her board. She hoisted herself up and knelt on her board, not wanting to fall in again. Maybe if they tied Catra would help her cook.

Adora watched as Catra got on her board and then proceeded to stand up. As expected, the other girl had no difficulty balancing and was able to smirk at Adora with ease. How she managed to look so good while literally dripping wet was beyond Adora.

“What’s the matter? Too scared to try to stand up again?” Catra asked.

And, well, Adora couldn’t just let Catra think she was afraid of something, so of course she stood up again. She turned to let Catra know just how easy standing up was but the words died in her mouth as she was met with one of Catra’s signature smirks.

“So,” Catra began, her voice low and smooth, “You want to see me _soaking wet?”_

Well shit. Adora hadn’t thought of it like _that_ when she said it. But the tone of Catra’s voice and the obvious innuendo were bringing up a few images in Adora’s mind that she had never allowed herself to linger on before. Maybe she _did_ want to see Catra… like that. She definitely wasn’t opposed to the idea.

Completely distracted by her train of thought, and probably just standing there with a shocked expression on her face like an idiot, Adora wasn’t prepared for Catra to use her paddle to push off of Adora’s board. Which meant Adora was, once again, sent tumbling down into the water. At least the shock of her spill cleared her head.

“Catra! Where are you going?” Adora called after her as she climbed up on her board again, deciding to remain kneeling.

“Back to the dock, princess, it’s been an hour,” Catra called back over her shoulder, “I hope you have a plan for dinner tonight.”

“I hope you can carry two hampers at once,” Adora retorted before following Catra back to the dock. They probably looked ridiculous to the person working at the boathouse--both soaking wet despite the fact that it was a fairly calm day--but Adora was too busy trying to brainstorm cooking ideas to care. Hopefully they had some pasta and marinara sauce at home.

\---

Adora glared at the water on the stove menacingly. After they returned from paddleboarding, Catra had given Adora first shower rights so she could get started on dinner. Which meant her girlfriend probably wanted dinner to be at least mostly done by the time she was done showering. But the water wasn’t boiling, so Adora wasn’t anywhere near a completed meal.

“Hey,” Catra walked into the kitchen, freshly showered and wearing an old hoodie… actually, Adora was pretty sure that used to be hers, “I had a great time today. Thanks for convincing me to do that.”

Adora looked up from the offending pot to smile at her girlfriend, “I’m glad you had fun. I did too.”

“Even though you’re stuck cooking?” Catra asked with a lopsided smile.

“Yeah. Cooking’s actually not that bad,” Adora shrugged, “Plus the faces you make when you try to hide how terrible it tastes are really funny.”

“That was one time! And the pasta was completely overcooked, so it’s not like there was anything you could do to fix it,” Catra argued.

“Yeah, well, I appreciated the thought,” Adora laughed before pulling Catra into a hug. Hugging Catra had become one of her favorite pastimes. The other girl was warm and smelled like roses and oranges and always let herself relax in Adora’s arms.

Catra’s hands made their way into Adora’s hair, where they pulled her down for a kiss. Kissing Catra was nice too. It felt really good and made her heart beat faster, but Adora was always left feeling like she wanted _more._ She knew that kissing could get even better, she knew that people would kiss for long periods of time, but she didn’t know how to get to that point.

Their kiss had lingered for longer than any of their previous kisses, as if Catra sensed that Adora was craving more contact. Then Adora felt Catra’s tongue against her lips and she opened her mouth in surprise. Catra’s tongue slipped into Adora’s mouth and _oh_ that’s why people kissed. Adora let her mind blank as Catra’s tongue brushed against her own gently. And then Catra was pulling back.

Without thinking, Adora wrapped her arms tighter around Catra, pulling her girlfriend closer to her to keep her from leaving.

“Woah, you good there? Sorry if I freaked you out,” Catra said with concern.

“No, I’m good. Can we do that again?” Adora asked.

“Of course.” Catra pulled Adora down again, and this time Adora was prepared for Catra’s tongue. She got lost in the sensation of kissing Catra. It was exhilarating and causing heat to build up within her as her body screamed for more. So she tentatively moved her tongue to meet Catra’s, which earned her a faint moan from the other girl.

Adora pulled back to look at Catra. That noise had sent _something_ rushing through her, and she was pretty sure it was arousal. Was it weird to be aroused by someone else’s noises? What if that wasn’t a normal thing to be into and it weirded Catra out? It’s not like Adora had a solid baseline for this, so there was no way to know how Catra would react.

“Sorry, we were just going a little too fast,” Adora apologized. Everything was just so new and overwhelming and Adora had no idea what she was supposed to expect and it was scary. She trusted Catra, but she needed more time to figure out exactly what she wanted.

“It’s all good, princess. We can go as slow as you’d like,” Catra kissed Adora on the cheek before detangling herself and making her way to the living room, “Your water’s boiling, by the way.”

Adora turned back to the pot to find that it was, in fact, boiling over. She frantically turned the heat down and put the pasta in the water. One day she would learn how to cook actual meals for Catra, but for now they would have to make do with overcooked spaghetti and store bought marinara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the concept of Catra and Adora coming out of the heart and being like "we got together!" and Glimmer being like "oh, us too." There would definitely be some issues there.
> 
> Also, please check out this[ fanart ](https://twitter.com/Yooooooyn/status/1300761359639105538?s=20)of chapter 10, it's so cute!!
> 
> As a side note: the next two chapters will have some explicit parts to them, but I'm making it skippable so don't worry if you're not into that stuff. There will still be other scenes for you to enjoy!


	14. Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thanks so much for over 1,000 kudos! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying the story!
> 
> In terms of smut, I would probably rate this chapter as mature. If you don't want to read anything physical, I would just stop reading after the second break. If you're okay with some making out, you're probably good until Catra says "Sounds good to me." There is some development on Adora's part so I would like to think that the smut is worthwhile, but Adora's going to reiterate her development next chapter in less explicit terms so you won't miss out if you skip :)

Catra had been dating Adora for about two months now and it was better than she could have ever imagined. They were both still very busy, Adora with practice and Catra with class and applying for internships, but they had managed to find time to spend together. Both had stuck true to their original agreement of one event with friends and at least one event with the two of them each week. Catra was seeing much more of Adora and she was loving every minute of it.

Now seemingly mundane activities like going grocery shopping or looking up new recipes for Spinnerella and Netossa’s potluck or absolutely demolishing Bow and Glimmer in yet another game of pictionary were special because they were with Adora. 

Catra no longer had to suppress the urge to hold Adora’s hand or hug her or tell her how beautiful she was because she could just do those things. Sometimes Adora even initiated, especially when it came to cuddling. It was impossible for them to get through a movie without one of them migrating to the other’s lap. And Catra had woken up with Adora draped across her more times than she could count because her girlfriend had a habit of falling asleep in Catra’s bed, mid explanation about the origin of some random word.

Everything was amazing, was better than Catra had dared dream it to be. Except for the physical aspect. Sure, they kissed. Sometimes they even used tongue, and a few days ago Adora had even encouraged Catra to straddle her. But that was it. There were no touches, above or below clothes, and no attempts to progress their activities.

Which Catra was fine with. She honestly wasn’t sure if Adora even experienced sexual attraction, so she was content to let Adora lead on the physical aspect of their relationship. The last thing she wanted to do was force the other girl into doing something that wasn’t fun for her too. Plus, just kissing Adora was enough to make Catra’s heart stop. Catra could deal with not having sex; she’d only had sex a handful of times before Adora anyways, and she still had her fingers. What she couldn’t deal with was the guilt of forcing the other girl to do something she was uncomfortable with.

But sometimes Adora looked at her in ways that Catra could only interpret as sexual. Like whenever they went to the gym together and Adora would stare at her as she squatted, supposedly to check her form (which Catra knew was bullshit because she used that same excuse all the time). Or the way she blushed whenever Catra smirked at her. And there were all those times Catra stretched and Adora just stared at the exposed skin by her midsection.

So Catra’s current theory was that Adora _did_ want to be more intimate but was too scared to make a move. Which would usually mean that it would fall on Catra to make a move and guide her oblivious girlfriend through this stuff, but they had both agreed to let Adora progress things when she was ready.

Sure, Catra could be patient, but she really wanted to see how Adora would react if she pushed all of Adora’s buttons all at once. She knew what Adora found attractive about her--her girlfriend wasn’t exactly subtle--and she had more than enough experience making Adora flustered. So what would happen if she put all of that information to good use?

Catra had a plan. And granted, none of her previous plans were that great. But she was having a hard time finding an issue with getting dressed up and teasing her girlfriend. Worse case, Adora gets to see her looking hot in a dress and they have a nice time out before going home and having an awkward conversation about sex and Adora’s lack of sexual desire. Which they honestly needed to have anyways; it had been a while since they checked in with each other. So Catra was confident that this plan could only work in her favor.

Deciding that thinking out the plan any more would inevitably cause the whole thing to go to shit somehow, she glanced up at Adora. The other girl was sitting across from her at their kitchen island turned study area because the living room table was too low to do work on and neither of them wanted to work in the isolation of their rooms. Catra was about to open her mouth to get her girlfriend’s attention when the blonde looked up, as if sensing Catra’s eyes on her.

“So, what are we doing this week?” Adora looked at Catra eagerly from across the counter. It was Catra’s turn to decide on their weekly date activity, which was perfect for Catra.

“Well, I was thinking. You know what kind of date we haven’t been on yet?” Catra asked.

“A beach date?” Adora offered.

“Ew, no. Well, yeah we haven’t done that yet, but gross,” Catra made a face. The only thing worse than a lake was the beach. Not only was the ocean absolutely terrifying, but sand would always get everywhere, “I was talking about a fancy dinner date. You know, at a nice restaurant.”

“You mean like where people go to propose?” Adora’s eyes widened.

“What? We’ve been dating for two months, Adora! No,” Catra backtracked. She just wanted to wear a dress and see Adora all dressed up (hopefully in a suit). There was no way she was proposing yet. Also, they were definitely too young to be engaged.

Adora smirked, “Well, I didn’t say _you_ were going to propose.”

“Well you implied it, idiot.” Catra pointed an accusatory finger at her girlfriend, “Look, I just want to go out for a nice dinner and make my parents pay for it because they said they were going to get you a birthday present and then never did.”

“I don’t need a present from your parents! I don’t even like them,” Adora insisted.

Catra shrugged, “Yeah, but free dinner. Don’t you want to make my stupid parents unknowingly pay for us to do gay shit?”

“Yeah, that does seem kind of fun,” Adora agreed.

“Perfect! I’ll figure out what the most ridiculously expensive restaurant is here and get us a reservation,” Catra decided.

“Wait, that means I have to dress up, doesn’t it?” Adora groaned, “Catra, was this whole idea just a ploy to get me in a suit?”

“Is it going to work?”

A pause. “Yes.”

“Good!” Catra smiled brightly, “I promise I’ll make dressing up worth your while.”

Adora raised an eyebrow, “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, you’ll see princess,” Catra winked, taking note of how it made Adora blush.

\---

Catra glared at herself in the mirror as if she could somehow scare herself into action. It was the evening of their dinner and Catra needed to get ready. She had been procrastinating because she hated all the fuss that came with preparing, but they were leaving in an hour so it was now or never. After all, her plan hinged on being over-the-top, and there was no way she was seducing Adora with damp hair and sweats.

With a sigh, she reached for her hair dryer. Catra hated doing her hair. As a kid, she didn’t realize that she couldn’t just blow dry and brush her hair like Adora and her mother did. As a result, her hair was always a frizzy mess and impossible to work with. Although she knew how to deal with her hair now, the disdain remained.

But Adora _loved_ her hair. Before they had started dating, Adora had always eyed it curiously, had always glued her eyes to Catra’s hands when she ran her fingers through it. Now, Adora had her hands firmly in Catra’s hair whenever they kissed, and usually played with it when they cuddled. Which Catra loved and definitely wanted to encourage.

So Catra was going to brave the blow dryer for the first time since the formal to give her hair more volume. It was loud and took forever and she had to attatch the stupid diffuser but the sheer volume she got from it made it worth it. She silently thanked Adora for seeming to have a preference for her hair down because that made her life so much easier.

After far too much time, Catra’s hair was sufficiently fluffed and brushed and she was ready to put her dress on. Catra had gone shopping earlier that week and she had known this was the dress she needed to wear the instant she tried it on. It was a dark red color that she knew Adora loved on her because every time she wore something in this shade Adora complimented her. It was tight and the material was ruched on the sides, which highlighted her slim figure. It didn’t cover much, but that was basically the point. She would probably pair it with her leather jacket, at least for the walk over.

Deciding that she was done getting ready, she grabbed the, now cleaned, Gucci heels from her closet and put them on. She grabbed her leather jacket and turned to look at herself in the mirror on the back of her door. She looked fucking hot.

“Catra? Are you done yet?” Adora called from the other side of her door.

Catra debated on whether or not she should make her girlfriend wait, but that seemed excessively mean. Plus, she was dying to see Adora in a suit. Glimmer had texted her a few days ago and told her to mentally prepare herself, so she knew it had to be good.

“Hey, Adora,” Catra called as she opened her door and leaned against the doorframe dramatically, hoping for as theatrical of an entrance as possible. Fortunately for her, Adora was sitting in the living room and was out of sight, so she had a few moments to make herself look suave and collected before she laid eyes on her girlfriend.

Adora made her way from the living room to the hallway, where both women proceeded to stare at each other for longer than was strictly necessary. Adora was wearing a white suit with a red button up underneath that was almost the same shade as Catra’s dress. Catra had no idea where her girlfriend had even found this thing, but the suit fit her perfectly. Catra had no choice but to stutter as her brain struggled to come up with a coherent thought that wasn’t _holy shit how did I get so lucky she’s so fucking hot_.

“Catra, wow,” Adora recovered first, “You look beautiful.”

“You don’t look too shabby yourself,” Catra winked, hoping she wasn’t blushing.

Adora laughed and extended her arm for Catra. Catra laced their fingers together happily before pulling out her phone to navigate. They made their way to the restaurant on the subway because at the end of the day they were still college students and neither of them wanted to pay for an uber. Plus, Catra had always loved the sense of satisfaction that competently navigating the many different lines gave her.

They made it to the restaurant on time despite Adora’s desire to be “fashionably late.” Catra still wasn’t convinced that was an actual thing real life rich people did, and even if it was, the restaurant they were going to probably wasn’t fancy enough to abide by the rules of high society. While Catra had wanted to book the most expensive restaurant in the city, they decided against it because it was some weird experimental thing that had a multi-month waitlist. This restaurant was still much nicer than carryout, though.

Once they were seated, Adora took off her suit jacket. Catra drank in the way the red of the shirt hung off of the other girl. It was perfectly tight around her shoulders and chest but flowed nicely down her arms and abdomen. That shirt had to be silk. There was no other material that could fit like that.

Not one to be outdone, Catra decided it was time to take her jacket off as well. She leaned back ever so slightly, smirking as she saw the way Adora’s eyes shot to her chest. She let the jacket fall back on the chair behind her.

“Cat got your tongue, Adora?” Catra teased when the other girl didn’t say anything.

Adora shook her head, “No, I’m just impressed. That dress is gorgeous, where did you get it?”

Catra shrugged. She had honestly already forgotten the name of the store, “Somewhere at the mall. Although I should be asking _you_ where you got that suit. I mean wow, Adora, it looks like it was made for you.”

“I actually thrifted it,” Adora said, cheeks predictably rosy, “Bow helped tailor it. He’s really good at sewing. Did you know he crops all of his shirts on his own?”

An interesting fact, but Catra didn’t really want to talk about Bow on their date. “Wow, I’m impressed. I honestly didn’t think it was possible for you to get any hotter, but he somehow managed to do it.”

“Really?” Adora was blushing fully now.

“Oh yeah,” Catra nodded seriously, “I’m _so_ attracted to you right now.”

The universe seemed to take pity on Adora because their waiter came over before she could respond. After placing their orders, they stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments.

“Um… what were we talking about?” Her girlfriend asked, clearly prompting Catra to choose a conversation topic. As if Catra would let her get out of flirting that easy.

Catra put an elbow on the table and rested her chin in her palm, leaning forward slightly and scanning Adora with her eyes. “I think we were talking about how hot you look right now.”

Adora smiled, “Are you going to flirt with me all night?”

“Unless you ask me to stop,” Catra confirmed, “Do you want me to stop?”

“No!” Adora shook her head, “Um, no, you don’t have to do that. I like it.”

“Oh good, because you look absolutely amazing. It would be a crime for me to _not_ tell you how sexy you are,” Catra winked.

“You look hot too,” Adora said quietly, as if telling a secret. Catra loved this side of Adora; the side that was clearly becoming more and more comfortable feeling attraction. It’s not that Adora didn’t compliment her, in fact Adora complimented her all the time. It’s just that when she did she usually used words like “cute” or “pretty.” It was only rarely that Adora used words like “hot” or “sexy,” which implied sexual attraction.

“Awe, thanks, princess,” Catra smiled to let her girlfriend know she was being genuine. She grabbed Adora’s hand with her free hand and rested both between them on the table. They just looked at each other contentedly for a few moments until their waiter came out with the drinks and ruined the moment.

“So, did you hear back from the hospital yet?” Adora asked after they had reluctantly broken eye contact. Their hands stayed entwined on the table.

“Yeah, they want to schedule an interview next week,” Catra nodded. Not exactly sexy date talk, but Catra was pretty sure if she flirted with her girlfriend for the entire night she would combust before they got to the fun stuff.

“Catra, that’s so exciting! Didn’t you say Bright Moon General was one of the top hospitals?” Adora beamed at her excitedly.

Catra shrugged nonchalantly, “Yeah, it’ll be a good internship if I can get it. But it’s super competitive, so I can’t get my hopes up.”

“Well, your application is super competitive so I don’t see why not,” Adora argued, “I mean, you have perfect grades, you worked at that doctor’s office in high school, and didn’t one of your professors write you a recommendation?”

“Yeah, I guess I am pretty great,” It was Catra’s turn to blush as her girlfriend’s compliments sunk in, “But I don’t have any experience with surgery yet, and it’s a surgical internship.”

“Well, you’re a sophomore in college. I think it would be more concerning if you _did_ have surgical experience,” Adora pointed out.

Catra thought about high school her doing anything related to a medical procedure. The thought made her laugh.

“Catra?” Adora asked, giving her a confused smile. The blonde was clearly happy with herself for having made her girlfriend laugh, although she clearly had no idea what was so funny.

“Sorry, it’s just imagine going to the hospital for heart surgery and this teenager with B.O. comes out and is like ‘hey, I’ll be doing your surgery so my college app looks better.’ Would that be fucked up or what?” Catra did her best to articulate the image in her mind.

“Catra! That’s not funny!” Adora giggled.

“Then why are you laughing?” Catra shot back.

“Because you’re laughing!” Adora insisted, laughing harder now. The sound made Catra want to laugh more, and the vicious cycle continued until they were both in tears.

After both girls recovered, they continued to talk about the other internships Catra was applying for. Her current plan was to get an internship so she could stay in Bright Moon over the summer. Ideally, her and Adora would find an apartment off campus to share for the next two years of college. The real question was if they should get a one or two bedroom apartment, but they didn’t need to talk about that quite yet.

A few minutes later, their waiter returned with their food. They reluctantly separated their hands to eat, but continued the flow of conversation easily. Along with preparing for championships this year--an event Catra looked forward to because her girlfriend looked hot in her uniform--Adora was also studying for her Spanish fluency test. Which meant Catra, as Adora’s conversation partner, was also studying for the Spanish fluency test. Catra had to admit that the other girl’s Spanish was exceptional. Although her accent still sucked.

Eventually, they finished their food and the waiter returned to clear their dishes away and hand them their dessert menus.

“Would you like anything for dessert?” The waiter asked.

“Do you have hot chocolate?” Adora asked eagerly, not bothering to look at the menu in front of her.

“Yes, we do,” The waiter nodded.

“I’ll take the hot chocolate with extra whipped cream,” Adora ordered, “Catra, do you want anything?”

Catra smiled fondly at her girlfriend’s excitement before shaking her head, “Nah, I’ll just have some of yours. I’m pretty full.”

“I’ll have that right out for you,” The waiter said before taking the menus back and leaving.

A few minutes and a debate about the importance of learning “vosotros” later (“Literally no one will ever use vosotros, Adora!” “But what if I go somewhere where they do and I come off as too formal?”) and the waiter returned with Adora’s drink.

“Is there even a drink under all of that whipped cream?” Catra eyed the pile of whipped cream suspiciously.

“Oh shut up,” Adora rolled her eyes before taking her first sip. When she put the cup down, Catra could see a small dollop of whipped cream on her nose. Her girlfriend was so cute.

“You got some on your nose,” Catra said before leaning forward to wipe the whipped cream off with her index finger. Adora’s eyes were blown out and trained on Catra as she leaned back and made a show of licking the cream off of her finger before winking.

“Enjoying the show, princess?” Catra deliberately licked her lips, reveling in the way Adora’s eyes followed the motion.

“I think I would enjoy it more if we were in private,” Adora tested the waters with an unsure smile. Catra’s mind immediately filled with images of exactly what kind of show she could give Adora in private and she felt the familiar tension of arousal begin to build within her. She liked where this conversation was going.

“That’s awfully bold of you, princess,” Catra joked, “Why don’t you finish your drink so we can get out of here?”

“Oh,” Adora’s face fell, “You want to be done?”

God, Adora was dense. “No, I just think we could have more fun at home.”

“At home?” Adora echoed before taking another sip of her drink.

Catra really had to do everything around here, didn’t she? “Yeah, at home. Just the two of us. _Alone,_ ” Catra let the timber of her voice deepen on the last word as she leaned forward. Under the table, she let the toe of her shoe make contact with Adora’s calf and moved it up slowly, “Sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

 _That_ seemed to get the other girl’s attention. Adora covered her hand with her mouth as her blush deepened. Catra could’ve sworn she heard Adora mumbling a curse under her breath.

“You know, I don’t think I really need to finish this,” Adora motioned to the drink wildly, “I mean, it sounds like there’s _important_ stuff to be done at home and I’d hate to hold that up. It’s not even that good, anyways.”

Catra couldn’t help but laugh. Her girlfriend was so adorable when she was flustered. “Relax, Adora, there’s no rush. We have all night.”

“All night,” Adora said, more to herself than to Catra, “You sure you don’t mind waiting?”

“It’s not waiting if I’m with you,” Catra insisted.

“Okay,” Adora took a deep breath, “Good. Because I was lying before, this is really good.”

“How can someone as drop dead gorgeous as you be such a dork?” Catra let her foot move up a fraction of an inch.

“Thanks?” Adora took a large gulp from the mug, “So what exactly are we doing at home?”

“Well, I have some ideas,” Catra said nonchalantly as she let her foot move up and down slowly, “But really whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want?”

“ _Whatever. You. Want_ ,” Catra held eye contact with Adora who looked too transfixed to look away.

Adora took another gulp of her hot chocolate before putting the mug down definitely, “Let’s leave.”

Catra sprung to her feet perhaps a bit too eagerly, “Good idea. Let’s go”

\---

Catra closed and locked the door before turning around to look at Adora. Who was staring at her with what could only be described as awe. Based on the way their conversation at the restaurant had gone, Catra expected to be pinned up against the door in a matter of seconds.

But Adora didn’t make a move. She just took her suit jacket off and draped it on a nearby chair. Unsure what else to do, Catra mimicked her girlfriend and took her jacket off as well. And then, they just stared at each other in silence. The more Catra looked at Adora’s face, the more Catra could see the conflict in her eyes. Adora was holding herself back, but Catra wasn’t sure _why._

“What’s up, princess?” Catra did her best to sound casual, but she was freaking out. Did she do something to make Adora conflicted? Was she the reason Adora was hesitating?

Adora blinked, moving her gaze from a location on Catra’s body that was definitely _not_ her face until she met her eyes. “Sorry, what?”

“Are you okay? You kinda just zoned out on me.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Adora said unconvincingly, eyes still wide and body still awkwardly tense.

Catra shook her head, “Adora, something’s bothering you, I can tell. We’ve just been staring at each other for the past two minutes.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just…” Adora trailed off.

“What? It’s just what?” Catra demanded, now very nervous. This did not seem like a good thing.

“ _Catra_ ,” Adora said in a frustrated voice. A _sexually_ frustrated voice. Oh.

Catra smirked, now realizing exactly what was going on. This was going to be fun. “Yes, princess?”

“Catra,” Adora started again, this time her voice lower with desire, “It’s just that you look really good in that dress.”

 _Yeah, I really fucking do._ “Oh? Is that so?”

“Yeah,” Adora’s eyes trailed across Catra’s body again, any pretense of being subtle gone, “And I can’t… I just can’t stop thinking about touching you.”

Oh, Catra liked where this was going. She took a small step forward, encouraging her girlfriend. “So you’ve been thinking about touching me?”

“I’m sorry,” Adora looked back at her with guilt in her eyes. Catra paused. What?

“It’s okay, Adora. I like that you want to touch me,” Catra took another step forward before grabbing Adora’s hands, which were hanging limply at her sides. She drew circles on the backs of Adora’s hands with her thumbs, hoping it would calm the other girl down.

Adora looked down at their hands, “It doesn’t weird you out?”

Perhaps Catra had not been clear about what she wanted from this relationship. “Adora, I _want_ you to touch me.”

“You do?” Adora took a small step forward, bringing their bodies closer together.

Catra laughed, “Yeah. Why do you think I was flirting with you all night? Why do you think I wore this dress?”

Adora just gaped at her, shock evident in her face. Catra took the opportunity to guide Adora’s hands to her waist, squeezing her wrists encouragingly.

“It is entirely normal to want to touch your girlfriend,” Catra encouraged, before taking a step back. Adora followed before stepping forward again. Catra’s back was now inches from being pressed against the door.

“Okay,” Adora smiled down at Catra as she took a deep breath. Catra gave her a moment to steady herself before taking the last step back. Adora’s eyes widened as she realized what Catra wanted, and she used the hands that were on Catra’s hips to pin Catra to the door.

Catra moved her hands from their position on top of Adora’s wrists to interlace behind Adora’s neck. She used gentle pressure to encourage Adora to come closer until they were kissing.

The first kiss was short and chaste, more of a silent permission than anything else. It somehow still managed to make Catra’s heart beat faster as excitement built within her. But it was obvious Adora wanted more, and the second time their lips met, Adora let her tongue tease at Catra’s lips. Catra opened her mouth for her girlfriend excitedly, letting the other girl take control.

Adora was always an eager kisser, but this kiss bordered on desperate. As if the moment they stopped kissing Catra would leave. Catra moved a hand into Adora’s hair, pulling the other girl even closer to her as if to reassure her that she wasn’t going anywhere.

Eventually, they had to part to breathe. Adora pulled back ever so slightly, until their foreheads were resting against each other. For a few moments, the sound of their breathing filled their otherwise silent apartment.

“Catra, I want…” Adora began before trailing off, obviously unsure exactly what she wanted. Luckily, Catra had a pretty good idea what it was.

“Yeah, me too,” Catra panted before looping one of her legs around Adora’s waist. Adora gasped in response before tightening her grip on Catra’s hips. Catra pulled the other girl down for another kiss, this time taking more control. Seemingly encouraged by Catra’s response, Adora let one of her hands wander down Catra’s leg to rest on the exposed skin just beneath her dress.

Catra moved a hand from its location on Adora’s neck to where Adora’s shirt was tucked into her pants. After a few purposeful tugs, Catra was able to slip her hand underneath the fabric and run her fingers along the defined lines of Adora’s stomach. Catra could feel Adora shiver at the touch.

Getting the hint, Adora’s hand wandered further up Catra’s thigh, pushing Catra’s dress up as she went. Catra arched her body up off the door, doing her best to mold their two bodies together. She could feel the adrenaline and arousal pumping through her as Adora’s hand journeyed further.

“We should really be doing this on a bed,” Catra gasped out. As hot as this was, she was not about to have their first time together be against their front door.

“Your room or mine?” Adora asked, her grip on Catra’s leg tightening at the implication.

“I don’t think it matters,” Catra smirked at her, letting her hand ghost up Adora’s abdomen suggestively, “I mean, we’re going to do the same thing either way.”

“My room?” Adora squeaked out, obviously flustered. How cute.

Catra unhooked her leg from around Adora’s waist and entwined their fingers fondly. “Sounds good to me.”

Adora led the way to her room with Catra close behind her. After Adora closed the door, Catra maneuvered them around and pinned Adora against the door and captured her lips in a fierce kiss. Catra felt Adora tangling her fingers in Catra’s hair desperately, pulling as Catra licked her way into Adora’s mouth. Catra did her best to hold back the moan that welled up in her at the sensation.

Catra broke the kiss to kiss down Adora’s neck gently, trying to lower the intensity of their encounter for a few moments to make sure Adora was okay. Judging by the way Adora let her head fall back against the door as she gasped Catra’s name, Adora was more than okay with the way things were going.

“Catra… bed,” Adora managed to gasp out.

Catra stepped back lightly, removing her hands from the blonde’s body. “Whatever you want, princess.”

Adora took a steadying breath before walking over to her bed and sitting down. Her hair was already a mess from where Catra had been grabbing it and her dark, blown out eyes were trained on Catra’s every movement. Feeling a euphoric rush of confidence, Catra stalked toward Adora before climbing on the bed and straddling her girlfriend.

Adora made a noise of surprise as Catra resumed her previous exploration of Adora’s neck. She silently thanked Adora for leaving the top three buttons of her shirt undone as she kissed further down Adora’s exposed skin until she reached her collarbone, which her shirt so wonderfully displayed

“You good there, princess?” Catra asked, looking up at Adora. Sure, Adora seemed to be very okay with the way that things were going, but this was new territory. They had kissed before, but never like this and most certainly never in a bed. She knew Adora and she knew that Adora wanted to take things slow. So no matter how badly Catra wanted to pin Adora down and show her a good time, she knew she needed to hold herself back.

“Yeah,” Adora nodded, pupils dilated.

“Good,” Catra smirked up at the other girl. She grabbed Adora’s hands, which were uselessly laid flat on her bed, and guided them to rest on her hips. Then she resumed her exploration of Adora’s collarbone, biting down experimentally in a spot that was hopefully low enough that her clothes would cover it. Adora made some sort of noise between a yelp and a whine.

“Shit, sorry, that was too hard,” Catra apologized, kissing the spot lightly, “I guess I got a little excited.”

“No, it’s okay,” Adora said with a shaky voice. Catra was tempted to chalk it up to nerves, but Adora’s hands were now gripping her hips tighter, pulling her ever so slightly closer. How interesting.

“Or was it more than okay?” Catra nipped at the skin slightly to the left of the mark, much lighter this time. Adora made an audible gasp.

“Catra,” Adora breathed, sliding her hands up from Catra’s hips to her waist. Catra shifted her body closer in encouragement, now sitting almost flush to Adora.

“As much as I love hearing you say my name, that’s not an answer princess,” Catra moved to bite lightly at the skin behind Adora’s ear, “Do you like it when I bite you?”

Apparently, that was the wrong question to ask. Adora tensed underneath her and suddenly became very interested in the pattern of her sheets. Finally, she nodded slowly, the movement almost imperceptible.

“Hey. Adora, it’s okay if you do,” Catra scooted back up her girlfriend’s thighs to put some space between their bodies and ran her fingers lightly through Adora’s hair, “The whole point of stuff like this is to feel good. Don’t be ashamed of what you like, this is all just for fun.”

Adora turned back to meet Catra’s eyes before nodding, “Just for fun?”

“Yeah, dummy,” Catra pushed at Adora’s shoulder playfully, “Just chill out and have a good time. It’s just us, nothing to be nervous about.”

“Okay,” Adora said, sounding more sure of herself, “Okay, yeah. I can do that.”

“I knew you’d come around,” Catra leaned in for a kiss, allowing herself to get lost in the feeling of the other girl’s tongue against her own for a few moments before pulling away, “So you tell me what feels good and I’ll tell you what feels good. Deal?”

Adora looked back at Catra with a determined look on her face. “Deal.”

“So,” Catra drawled casually, grabbing a lock of Adora’s hair and twirling it around her fingers casually, “How are we feeling about biting?”

Adora took a deep breath, “I liked it. It, um, it felt good.”

“Glad to hear it.” Catra smiled up at Adora before biting her neck and sucking. Adora threw her head back and moaned quietly. It sounded like music to Catra’ ears and stirred something beneath her stomach.

Catra sat back to admire the mark, the dark red contrasting beautifully with Adora’s light skin. She ran her fingers over it lightly, causing Adora to shiver underneath her. That one might be a bit too high for most of the other girl’s shirts. Oops. At least Adora didn’t seem to mind.

“Red’s a good color on you,” Catra winked at Adora. She was rewarded with more red, this time on Adora’s face as she blushed.

“You too,” Adora stammered, pulling lightly at Catra’s dress.

“Awe, you flatter me.” Catra laced her fingers in Adora’s hair and leaned up for a kiss. Adora met her halfway, mouth open and eager. Catra licked in excitedly, enjoying the taste of chocolate in her girlfriend’s mouth. She caught Adora’s bottom lip in between her teeth, biting down lightly. Adora moaned again, moving a hand up Catra’s back before urging their chests together.

“Do that again,” Adora sighed as she pulled back ever so slightly.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Catra laughed before pulling Adora into another kiss, biting down on her bottom lip again as promised. Adora made an absolutely wonderful noise. So Catra did it again, harder, before pulling back to pay more attention to Adora’s neck. It was much too unmarked for Catra’s taste.

“Oh my god, Catra,” Adora whined, and oh did Catra like the desperation in Adora’s voice. Tension was building in Catra, and she needed some sort of relief. Fortunately for Catra, Adora had chosen that moment to shift her body, inadvertently moving her thigh in between Catra’s legs. Catra let out a whine and she felt the friction where she needed it most, intense even through the layers between them.

Catra continued nipping and sucking at Adora’s neck as she let her hips roll down. In response, Adora used the hands on Catra’s waist to pull their bodies even closer. Catra let herself get lost in the pleasure for a few minutes before realizing that Adora was leaning her body back until it was resting against her wall awkwardly. That had to be uncomfortable.

“You wanna readjust? Your wall doesn’t exactly seem comfortable.”

“Oh, yeah, that would be nice,” Adora agreed, but didn’t move. It took a few seconds before Catra realized that she was sitting on top of Adora, essentially pinning her in place.

“Whoops, sorry,” Catra said as she gracefully lifted herself off of Adora’s lap and sat beside her instead. Adora looked at her like a lost puppy for a few moments before rotating her body so there was room for her to lie down.

Catra nodded, putting her hand on Adora’s shoulder and guiding her to lie down with gentle pressure. Adora lied back easily. Catra could see the trust in her eyes, as if she was falling and Catra was about to catch her. Oh right, the other girl was new to this. Of course she’s nervous.

After Adora got settled, Catra crawled on top of her, straddling her again. She hovered slightly over Adora, with her hands bracketing her face and her legs bracketing her hips. She made sure to keep their bodies from touching just yet. She needed to check in with Adora.

“Doing good, princess?” Catra asked, moving one of her hands to cup Adora’s face and brushing her thumb over her bottom lip.

“Yeah,” Adora nodded. Catra wasn’t convinced. She could hear those nerves back in the other girl’s voice, and Adora was the type to go along with anything just because the other person seemed to be having fun. Perhaps pinning Adora to her bed only two months into dating was a bit quick.

“Adora. You have to tell me if I’m going too fast for you. I can’t read your mind,” Catra reminded her, staring the other girl down.

Adora stared back at her, equally determined now. “I’m fine, Catra. I’ll stop you if it gets to be too much.”

“Awesome.” Catra let herself sit on Adora’s hips while she kissed Adora, this kiss much more intense than the last. Adora was kissing back more aggressively now, and Catra could feel the arousal pooling in her abdomen as Adora’s tongue pushed her way into Catra’s mouth.

Adora’s hands wandered over Catra’s body, starting at her hips before sliding up her back and sliding back down. Then they wandered further down, past Catra’s ass and down to the backs of her thighs. Despite the clothing between her and Adora, Catra felt as if Adora’s hands left fire in their wake.

“You know, you can grab my ass if you want,” Catra teased, rocking her hips back in encouragement. Below her, Adora went bright red.

“R-really? Are you sure you’re okay with that?” Adora’s eyes widened in excitement.

Catra rolled her eyes fondly, “Oh my God Adora I promise you’re good. Just let it happen.”

Deciding that Adora would probably wimp out, Catra grabbed her hands and moved them up, underneath the material of her dress, until they were resting on her ass. She rolled her hips back again to prove her point. Adora’s hands grabbed the muscle instinctively, forcing a moan out of Catra. As if cataloguing Catra’s reaction, Adora did it again. This time, Catra whined just loud enough for Adora to hear.

“Catra, what do we do when something feels good?” Adora asked with a smug look on her face.

Catra laughed, “Adora, it _really_ turns me on when you touch me like that. Keep doing it please?”

“Catra! Are you teasing me?” Adora asked with mock shock. _She’s hot when she’s sarcastic,_ Catra thought, not paying attention to where Adora’s arms were moving. Which proved to be a huge mistake, as Adora kicked one of Catra’s legs out from underneath her and used her arms to flip them over. 

“Me? Tease you? I would never!” Catra joked, smirking up at Adora. The view from above Adora was fantastic, but the view from below wasn’t so bad either.

“Well then, my mistake.” Adora caught Catra’s lips in a kiss. It was clear that Adora felt she was in charge now, as she pushed into Catra’s mouth assertively. Catra swallowed down a whimper as she realized that if Adora really wanted to, she could most certainly hold Catra down. That was something to explore another day.

Adora’s hands started to wander as the other girl gained confidence. Catra arched her back off the bed as Adora’s hands pushed her dress up even higher to allow her hands to ghost along Catra’s abdomen, never too high and never too low. Catra allowed herself to get lost in the moment, to let Adora call the shots. It felt really good, to just let go for a few minutes.

Above her, Adora was getting sloppy. Her tongue was getting frantic and her hands were pressing down with urgency. It was the perfect time to catch her off guard.

Catra let her hands wander up to Adora’s--extremely firm, wonderfully toned--shoulders. Then she kicked Adora’s leg out from under her and flipped them, earning her an indignant squawk from Adora.

“Sorry, princess. As much as I was loving that, there wasn’t _quite_ enough ass grabbing for my taste.” Catra winked as she allowed one of her legs to slide between Adora’s so she was straddling one muscular thigh.

“You could’ve grabbed my butt, you know,” Adora raised an eyebrow. Catra mercifully decided not to mock Adora for being too scared to say ass.

“Good idea!” Catra smiled down at Adora before grabbing her calf and pulling up, encouraging Adora to hook her leg over Catra’s waist. Then she let her hand drift up, from Adora’s knee to her thigh and finally to her ass. Which she gave an appreciative squeeze.

Catra hummed as Adora’s breath hitched. “Looks like all that working out is really paying off, isn’t it Adora?”

Adora squeaked and squirmed, causing the region between her thighs to brush against Catra’s thigh. In response, Adora let out a surprised moan before dropping her leg from Catra’s waist and freezing.

“Too much?” Catra asked.

“No! I want to do that again,” Adora grabbed Catra’s ass and pushed her forward lightly.

“With pleasure.”

Catra moved her thigh up until it came in contact with Adora’s crotch. Adora let out a harsh exhale before nodding at Catra encouragingly. Taking that as her cue to go forward, Catra thrust her hips forward, causing more of her weight to press on Adora. Adora moaned loudly and rolled her hips down to meet Catra’s thigh.

Catra leaned down to capture Adora’s lips in a frantic kiss. She could feel the heat building inside her as they rocked together, filling her with excitement. Everything was too hot, sensations were both too much and not enough. Catra needed _more._

Catra let one of her hands wander to the buttons of Adora’s pants. “Do you wanna take these off?”

“Yes,” Came Adora’s needy whine. Catra felt a rush of arousal as she realized how much Adora wanted her. The other girl’s eyes were glued on the movement of Catra’s hips and Catra had never felt more desired in her life.

Catra kissed Adora again and began unbuttoning her pants. They unfortunately had to separate for Adora to get her pants all the way down. Catra’s dress was hiked so far up her body that she was essentially just wearing a glorified shirt, so she left it on.

“Kitten underwear? Cute,” Catra smirked as she returned to her original position on top of Adora.

Adora rolled her eyes, “Sorry we can’t all be miss lacy red thong.”

“Whatever.” Catra moved her thigh up between Adora’s legs again, this time with less layers between them. She gasped as she could feel Adora’s arousal soaking through her underwear. Catra ducked down into the crook of Adora’s neck to moan at the sensation.

Catra could hear Adora’s breathing quickening underneath her. Adora’s hands made their way back to Catra’s hips, gently pushing Catra’s weight forward in time with the movement of her hips. Catra let Adora set the pace and decided to focus instead on kissing Adora’s neck, biting down occasionally.

“Do you want me to use my fingers?” Catra asked the other girl.

Adora looked up at her with wide eyes before nodding. Catra shifted her leg back so she could cup the space between Adora’s legs with a hand. Adora rolled her hips down, gasping at the feeling of Catra’s fingers against her, even through the fabric.

“Catra,” Adora whined, letting her head fall back and exposing her neck, “Shit.”

Then Adora shifted and her thigh came up against Catra. Catra shifted her hips back on instinct, groaning as her clit brushed up against muscle, sending pleasure pulsing through her like fire in her veins. In response, Adora moved her thigh against Catra while rolling her hips down. Both women moaned at the contact and picked up their pace.

“Glad you’re enjoying yourself, princess,” Catra smirked down at Adora, doing her best to hide the breathy need in her voice. It took a lot to make the other girl swear, so she was obviously doing something right.

Catra started moving her fingers down, stroking Adora through her soaked panties. Even through the fabric, she could tell when she found the other girl’s clit based on the way Adora’s body spasmed and the rhythm of her hips was thrown off. Catra stroked her girlfriend, delighting in the way Adora’s body reacted beneath her.

“Catra, I’m…” Adora started before cutting herself off with a whine. Catra could tell she was close from her labored breathing and the erratic rhythm of her hips. Catra leaned her weight forward, putting even more pressure on Adora’s clit and focusing all of her energy on setting a quick, consistent pace for Adora.

“You got this, Adora. Just let it happen,” Catra encouraged, her voice low with desire.

Adora’s body tensed up in response, the movement of her hips faltered as she desperately gasped for air. Catra continued the movement of her fingers as Adora stilled and her mouth fell open in a silent moan. She didn’t let up until Adora’s body relaxed and her breathing returned to normal.

“Catra,” Adora finally said weakly. The tone of her voice brought Catra’s attention back to her own burning arousal, threatening to consume her. She shifted her weight back onto Adora’s thigh, gasping at the friction and pressure.

“Adora,” Catra moaned in response, nearing her own climax. Adora looked at her with wide eyes, clearly fascinated with the movement of Catra’s hips. Catra was so close, and the awe in Adora’s eyes made her feel so attractive and sexual and _wanted._

Adora shifted her leg up more, pressing on Catra’s center with more force. Catra let her head fall to Adora’s shoulder, resting there as she whimpered. She could feel the tension building in her body, ready to be released at any moment.

“Oh, Catra, you’re close,” Adora whispered, more of an observation than anything else. She moved a hand to gently comb through Catra’s hair, the tenderness of her action a stark contrast to their situation.

Catra allowed herself to let go, her body spasming as pleasure rolled through her. Below here, Adora remained solid, running her fingers through Catra’s hair and pushing her thigh insistently against Catra.

“Fuck, Adora,” Catra panted, allowing herself to collapse on top of Adora. Adora wrapped her free arm around Catra’s waist, pulling her closer in a protective motion. Catra contentedly melted into the other girl’s touch.

“Um, wow,” Adora finally broke the silence.

“Yeah, that about sums it up,” Catra laughed. She shifted so she was beside Adora instead of on top of her, the front of her body pressed into Adora’s side and their legs entwined. Adora turned her head to meet Catra’s eyes. She had a small smile on her face.

“That was…” Adora trailed off, clearly looking for words.

“Mmm,” Catra hummed as she grabbed Adora’s hand, “You liked it?”

“Yeah. I liked it a lot actually,” Adora nodded, “Did you?”

“Yeah, it was amazing,” Catra kissed Adora’s cheek gently and shifted to get comfortable. After the excitement of the day, she was ready to sleep.

“Catra, we can’t go to sleep yet,” Adora said sternly as she realized what the brunette was doing.

Catra groaned, “Why not?”

“Because we’re wearing our clothes! And neither of us have brushed our teeth yet, and I know your skin gets dry if you don’t put your lotion on,” Adora insisted, already standing up.

“God you’re annoying when you’re right,” Catra said dramatically as she rolled out of bed.

“I love you too babe,” Adora laughed before making her way to the bathroom. Catra trailed behind her happily, feeling more at peace in that moment than she had in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk if I've said this explicitly in the fic but Catra's studying to be a surgeon because she's super smart and intense but would have absolutely horrible bedside manner. I also picture Catra and Adora switching between Spanish and English occasionally because they're both fluent in both languages, but my Spanish is not great so I don't really want to include any Spanish for fear of butchering it. But just know that whenever they're having a conversation about Spanish/speaking Spanish, I do picture them speaking Spanish.
> 
> Anyways, next chapter will be up when it's up. Classes are picking up so I'm not going to give myself a hard deadline, but it's mostly done so ideally it'll be up in a week or two? I'm not going to leave this fic incomplete, I promise :)


	15. Movie Night part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Can you tell I'm running out of date ideas?
> 
> This chapter is very much about sex. They're either talking about it or having it, so if that makes you uncomfortable you can just skip and come back for the epilogue, which will be pure fluff. There isn't anything explicit until after the second break. If you'd like to skip the smut, I would recommend skipping from "at some point during the movie" to "we should take a shower" because there's a bit of fluff at the end (I promise nothing happens in the shower lol).

[To: OG Best Friends Squad 💕 ✨ 👑 ]

<<Guys come over now

<<I need people to talk to

>>[Glimmer ✨] What happened???

>>[Glimmer ✨] And when will you stop sending us vague and concerning text messages I swear it’s taking years off my life

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Adora are you okay???

<<Sorry

<<Yeah Im good

<<It’s just news about Catra

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] Oooooh!! 👀

>>[Bow 💖 💛 ] I’m omw

>>[Glimmer ✨] Wait, you want to talk abt Catra in ur shared apartment?

<<It’s fine she’s at the grocery store

<<Or the gym…

<<I can’t remember

<<She’s not here rn that’s what matters

>>[Glimmer ✨] K Im coming over

Adora put down her phone and sighed. It had been about half a day since she and Catra had done… that. She needed someone to talk to and unpack her emotions that wasn’t Catra. Not that she felt she couldn’t talk to Catra about this stuff, but she wanted other opinions.

Over the past two months, Adora had begun familiarizing herself with sex and sexual attraction. She had never been interested in sex before, so she didn’t really know all that much about it. Sure, she got the mechanics, but what made sex good? What kinds of things should she expect? What were kinks, and would Catra expect her to have them?

Needless to say, Adora was having a fun two months of discovering new websites and learning a lot of new words and sensations. It had taken her a while to figure out what it all meant. Sure, she broadly understood what being turned on felt like, but she was just now learning exactly what the now increasingly familiar rush of adrenaline and pull in her gut was pushing her to do. It was pushing her to touch Catra, to let Catra touch her, in ways she hadn’t even thought about until recently. It was exciting, but it was also scary. Sometimes she felt like she wanted it too much, sometimes she was too worried when things got intense she wouldn’t want it enough.

Adora let her mind wander to last night and the way it felt to have Catra on top of her. She thought about the way the other girl looked at her, the way her voice’s timber went low and raspy, the way her hand felt in between her legs. Catra hadn’t been weirded out by Adora’s desires, and Adora had definitely still wanted Catra last night when things got intense.

So Adora was feeling a lot more confident. She now knew for sure that Catra didn’t think she was weird for wanting to touch her, and Catra had said that they would communicate about everything. In fact, the idea of going even further with Catra was now more exciting than it was scary.

A knock on the door snapped her out of her fantasy. Adora stood up and opened the door, revealing Bow and Glimmer. Who were looking at her with concern. In hindsight, her text was a bit ominous.

“Hey guys!” She greeted, motioning them in. They moved to the kitchen where they sat around the counter.

“Adora, what’s up?” Glimmer asked, voice gentle, “Is everything okay between you and Catra?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. It’s really good, actually,” Adora rubbed the back of her neck. She was really excited to share this new development in her relationship with her friends, but she was still trying to figure out how to talk about her sex life in a way that wasn’t weird.

“Then what’s up?” Bow prompted, now also looking concerned.

“I guess I should just show you,” Adora finally decided before pulling down her turtleneck to reveal the marks Catra had left all over her neck last night. Adora hadn’t thought about it in the moment, but the placement of the marks wasn’t exactly subtle. Luckily she had a few turtlenecks and some high collared workout shirts.

Bow gasped audibly and he covered his mouth with his hands.

“Oh my God Adora, didn’t that hurt?” Glimmer demanded, looking as shocked as Bow.

“What? No! Nothing like that. I asked her to do it,” Adora insisted.

“You _asked_ her?” Bow squeaked.

Adora rolled her collar up again sheepishly. “Yeah, I did. It felt good.”

“Woah, okay. How about you start at the beginning. What happened?” Glimmer asked, blushing slightly.

“Okay, stop me if I go too into detail,” Adora started.

Bow snorted, “Don’t worry, we'll stop you.”

“Good. So yesterday we went on a date, right? And she was wearing this dress and she looked really good. Really, _really_ good. So when we got back to our apartment, we started kissing. But her back was against the wall and it was getting really intense so we moved to my bedroom. And then Catra like sat on me?”

“Like straddled you, or...?” Glimmer pried.

“Yeah, I guess straddled is a better word. She was like sitting on my leg and we were kissing. And then she kissed my neck and _then_ she bit down. And she, um, I guess figured out that I enjoyed it. So she did it again. And then she started… actually you probably don’t want to hear that. But after that I lied down and she was on top of me? And her thigh! It was, um, _there._ Which felt good. And then we took my… we took my pants off, which felt better. And then she used her hand and it felt really good and yeah, that’s what happened.”

“Oh, wow, okay,” Bow stared at Adora owlishly, “Good for you, I guess?”

“Oh calm down, Bow, it’s just sex. We’re going to have to learn how to talk about it sooner or later,” Glimmer rolled her eyes before smiling at Adora encouragingly, “After all, all the cool kids are doing it these days.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s just a big transition,” Bow admitted. Adora nodded in agreement.

Glimmer shrugged, “Well it’s bound to happen sooner or later. What really matters is did it feel good?”

Adora smiled at the memory, “Um, _yeah_ , it felt really good. Catra definitely knows what she’s doing. It’s kinda intimidating.”

“Wow, extremely hot _and_ experienced. What a catch,” Glimmer winked.

As if on cue, the front door opened and Catra sauntered in, wearing tight leggings and a crop top. _So it was the gym,_ Adora remembered.

“Hey, it’s Sparkles and Arrow. What’s up guys?” Catra asked nonchalantly, oblivious to the conversation they were just having.

“Oh, Catra! We’re just hanging, you know, like we do,” Bow rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Yep! Just continuing our tradition of spending Monday afternoons together,” Adora smiled, going along with Bow’s lie, “You know how fun Mondays are.”

Catra raised an eyebrow as her eyes flitted from Bow to Glimmer and finally to Adora. She smirked as she stared at Adora’s turtleneck. “Well sorry for interrupting your Monday afternoon hangout. I’ll get out of your hair.”

Catra grabbed a granola bar from a cupboard before walking over to Adora. “Hey, Adora,” Catra greeted before kissing her cheek, “I like the turtleneck.”

“T-thanks,” Adora stammered as Catra winked and walked away.

“If you guys need me, you know where I live,” Catra shot over her shoulder before disappearing into her room.

“Why did you decide to invent some sort of Monday tradition! She lives with you, she knows that doesn’t exist,” Glimmer glared at Adora after Catra’s door was completely shut.

“I don’t know, I got nervous! You know how I can’t tell a lie to save my life,” Adora groaned as she buried her face in her palms.

“As endearing as that fact is, she most definitely knows we were talking about her,” Glimmer sighed.

“I hope you were saying all nice things,” Catra called from her room.

All three of them froze. “You can hear us?” Bow asked in shock.

“I can always hear you guys,” Catra said with some amusement in her voice, “The walls here are really fucking thin.”

Adora’s mouth fell open as a rush of embarrassment went through her. Beside her, Bow and Glimmer were doubled over in silent laughter.

“Okay then, I’m guessing we’re going to talk about this later?” Adora offered.

“Sounds like a plan, babe.” Adora could almost see the smirk that was on Catra’s face right now.

“So,” Bow cleared his throat after an awkward pause, “How are classes going?”

\---

A few hours later, Adora knocked on the door to Catra’s room. While it would probably be more accurate to call it a glorified office--Catra didn’t sleep there anymore--they still called it Catra’s room because Catra enjoyed the personal space.

“Are you ready to talk?” Adora started when Catra opened the door. She was still mortified at what had happened earlier.

Catra nodded, “Sure. And, for the record, I haven’t been eavesdropping or anything. I usually just listen to music when you're talking. But you were acting _so_ weird so I just had to listen in, and now I’m curious about what you were saying about me.”

“Oh, no, it wasn’t bad!” Adora insisted. She didn’t want Catra to get the wrong idea. “I was just talking about what we did last night.”

“So you gave Sparkles and Arrow the play by play?” Catra raised an eyebrow. Adora nodded. “Nice. I wish I could’ve seen their faces. I bet Bow was super flustered.”

“Yeah, he was,” Adora laughed at the memory, “But that doesn’t bother you?”

“Bother me? I expected it,” Catra shrugged, “Sex is new to you. It’s pretty normal to talk to your friends about it a lot in the beginning.”

“You didn’t talk to me about it,” Adora pouted.

“Yeah, because you looked ready to kill someone every time I brought a girl up, you dork,” Catra shoved Adora’s shoulder playfully, “And for the record, as long as you use discretion I’m fine with you telling other people. It’s your sex life as much as it is mine so you should be able to talk about it with people.”

“Okay, good to know. I do still want to talk, though,” Adora said before making her way to their couch.

“About?” Catra raised an eyebrow as she followed Adora and sat down next to her.

“Sex,” Adora said with as much confidence as she could muster. She figured she might as well get used to saying that word around her girlfriend. Who was now also her sexual partner.

“Okay,” Catra nodded calmly, “What about sex?”

Where to begin? “Well, I am feeling more confident after yesterday, but I’m still nervous. Which I’m sure you’ve picked up on.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Catra grabbed Adora’s hand reassuringly, “What’s making you nervous?”

Adora took a deep breath. _It’s just Catra,_ Adora reminded herself, _she’s not going to judge you or think you’re weird for wanting to touch her._ “I think I’m just worried I’m going to be into something you’re not or I’m going to do something you don’t like. So I guess what I wanted to ask was, what do you like?”

Catra considered Adora’s question for a few moments before responding, “Well, if I’m being honest here I’m pretty sure you think I’m _much_ more experienced than I actually am. I’ve only had sex a handful of times, and never with someone I’ve trusted the way I trust you. So this is all pretty new to me, too.”

“Oh,” Adora said, feeling a little relieved that they were on a more even playing field than she had originally thought, “So what have you done?”

“Nothing too fancy. Mainly fingering and eating them out,” Catra made a vague motion to encourage Adora to fill in the blanks, “I’ve only ever topped though.”

Adora gave her girlfriend a surprised look. She had just kind of assumed that they would switch off. She had imagined both ways (multiple times), and the idea of touching Catra was just as arousing as the idea of Catra touching her.

“Why do you look so surprised?” Catra said with a laugh.

“I don’t know, I just thought you said that you wanted me to touch you last night,” Adora looked at the ground awkwardly, “I must have interpreted that wrong.”

Catra grabbed Adora’s hand which encouraged Adora to look at the other girl in the eyes, “Hey, Adora, don’t be embarrassed! You remembered right, I promise. Just because I didn’t let anyone else touch me like that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to.”

Well, this was the worst case scenario. Not only was Adora into something Catra wasn’t into, but Catra was going to force herself into a situation she didn’t want to try to make Adora feel better. “Catra, it’s okay if you don’t want me to touch you. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“I know you don’t, Adora. That’s part of why I think I’d like it,” Catra admitted.

“What do you mean?” Adora asked, confused.

“Well, I guess for me being touched is a vulnerable thing. So I wouldn’t let any random person do it, because what if something went wrong? But I trust you. I know you won’t hurt me and you’ll stop if I want you to,” Catra explained, her thumb rubbing circles on the back of Adora’s hand nervously.

“Oh, that makes sense,” Adora nodded, “I guess that’s kind of why I like the idea of being on top? Because I like it when you’re open with me and trust me. I think it’s hot.”

Catra smirked at her, “You think I’m hot? How embarrassing for you.”

In retaliation, Adora hit Catra with a pillow. Catra shrieked and grabbed the nearest soft object--a blanket--and threw it over Adora. Shrouded in darkness, Adora was momentarily incapacitated as she struggled her way out of the blanket. Taking advantage of Adora’s hindrance, Catra pushed Adora down on the couch before straddling her and pinning her hips down. Adora finally wrestled the blanket off of her head and was greeted with the sight of Catra laughing from her position above Adora.

“You think I’m hot too,” Adora pointed out.

Catra leaned down to wrap her arms around Adora, essentially laying on top of her, “Yeah, I do think you’re hot.”

There was a brief silence as they just enjoyed being tangled up with each other. Adora’s hands found Catra’s hair and she let her fingers comb through the wavy mess gently. It was nice to know that Catra trusted her. 

“What about you?” Catra asked the silence of the living room.

“What about me?” Adora mumbled into Catra’s hair.

“Well, I’ve thought about it both ways and I’d be interested in basically anything you want to do,” Catra said into Adora’s neck, “So what is it that you want to do?”

“I haven’t really thought of anything specific,” Adora shrugged. That wasn’t entirely true; she had most definitely thought about specific actions or scenarios, but there wasn’t one particular fantasy that stuck out to her, “I just want to make you feel good.”

Adora could practically hear Catra rolling her eyes, “Yeah, I know. That’s very noble of you, but what about after that? Are you comfortable with me touching you like that?”

“Yeah, that’s something I’d like if you were interested in that,” Adora said.

“I am very much interested in that.” Now Adora could feel Catra’s smile against her skin.

“Um, that’s good,” Adora could feel herself blushing, “So, you said you’ve thought about us both ways.” Catra nodded. “Was there anything specific?”

“I don’t know. Nothing specific, just general stuff,” Catra did her best to sound nonchalant, but Adora could pick up on the way she tensed just a little bit. Was there something _Catra_ was embarrassed to tell her?

“Are you sure it was just general stuff?” Adora pried, “You know, it’s okay if it’s not.”

“It’s just kind of embarrassing,” Catra admitted, her face still in the crook of Adora’s neck.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but it’ll be hard for me to give you what you want if you don’t talk to me,” Adora pointed out.

“Why are you always so right?” Catra groaned and rolled over slightly to look at Adora, “Okay, I don’t really know how to describe this, but I want you to compliment me?”

“Catra, you’re really smart and pretty and I admire your work ethic,” Adora complied, although she failed to see how that was relevant.

“No, you dork, during sex!” Catra rolled her eyes with a smile and a faint blush, “Like, tell me I’m doing good, you know? Or talk about how you want me and think I’m hot.”

“Like, reassurance?” Adora clarified.

“Yeah, I guess,” Catra nodded, “Sometimes I just forget that I’m loved and wanted and I get scared that everyone’s going to leave me. I’d just like the reminder that you’re not going anywhere.”

Adora thought about that for a few moments. Catra’s parents weren’t big on complimenting her and Catra wasn’t really popular with the other kids growing up, so Adora was the only friend Catra had for a good portion of her life. Until they drifted apart freshman year. Adora had never really considered how it must have impacted Catra--Catra was the one who stopped returning her texts, so Adora had just assumed the other girl was happy without her--but now that she thought about it, Catra must have felt scared and alone. It made sense that her girlfriend would crave reassurance that Adora wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’m not going anywhere, Catra, I promise,” Adora let the arm that was around Catra’s waist tighten reassuringly.

\---

“So let me get this straight,” Catra began, arms crossed and eyebrows raised in faux annoyance.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s happening,” Adora joked under her breath.

Catra glared at her, “Let me _clarify_ then. I pull out all the stops and take you to a fancy ass dinner and your date idea is the movie night we already have every week?”

It was true. Two months into the relationship and Adora was already out of date ideas.

“It’s about true love?” Adora offered as she held up her old CD copy of _The Princess Bride_ hopefully.

“You’re lucky you’re cute, princess,” Catra did her best to sound unenthusiastic but Adora had never seen her girlfriend get settled on her side of the couch with more enthusiasm. Adora started the movie and made them some popcorn. By the time she had returned, Catra was firmly on Adora’s side of the couch.

Adora stood in front of the screen until Catra got the hint and sat up for Adora to get settled. Then Catra snuggled into Adora, burying her face in the crook of Adora’s neck. Adora pulled her close, enjoying her body heat and the weight of Catra above her. 

At some point during the movie, she turned her head to align her lips with Catra’s and pull her into a kiss. The brunette returned the kiss lazily.

Adora deepened the kiss and moved her hand to cup Catra’s jaw and pull her closer. Catra shifted her body and threw her arm around Adora’s neck. Adora sighed into the kiss as Catra’s body shifted against her, moving closer and getting more comfortable.

They kissed for a few minutes, unhurried. They did this a lot; kissing just because they could. Because it was a way to be close to each other. But the position of Catra’s body on top of her felt so nice that Adora started kissing with more intensity.

Catra made an interested noise in the back of her throat before kissing back with equal intensity. She rolled her body completely on top of Adora’s, moving her legs on either side of Adora’s body. Adora placed one of her hands in Catra’s hair, fisting it as gently as possible. Her other hand moved to the hem of Catra’s shirt before slipping under. She moved her hand up her lower back ever so slightly.

“Feeling bold today, princess?” Catra teased near Adora’s ear before nipping at her earlobe. Adora whined underneath her, earning her a chuckle from Catra. In response, Adora tightened the hand that was in Catra’s hair which caused the other girl’s breath to hitch.

“Maybe a little,” Adora smiled at her girlfriend before capturing her lips in another kiss, this one mostly teeth as she nipped at Catra’s lip. Catra moaned into the kiss as she arched her back, encouraging Adora to touch her.

Adora moved her hand up the expanse of Catra’s back slowly, marveling at the smoothness and warmth of the other girl’s skin. She made it to the band of Catra’s bra before hesitating, unsure what exactly to do. All she knew was that she didn’t want to stop. Catra’s body felt too good on top of her and every point of contact seemed to send electric sparks through Adora’s body.

“Wanna take my shirt off?” Catra asked with a smirk.

Adora hesitated for a few seconds, realizing how badly she wanted to take Catra’s shirt off. She had never felt an urge to touch someone like this. It was exhilarating and a tiny bit terrifying.

“It’s okay if you do,” Catra’s smirk softened into a smile, “That’s like a totally normal thing for you to want.”

“Yeah, I do,” Adora admitted. She could feel the warmth rushing to her face and could tell she was blushing.

“You’re such a dork,” Catra smiled before sitting up and turning their TV off. Then she pulled her shirt over her head. She threw it on the floor somewhere, but Adora wasn’t watching where it went. Not when she could look at Catra instead.

Adora slowly ran her hands up the plane of Catra’s stomach, tracing the lines of her abs appreciatively. She let her hands wander higher, to the bottom of Catra’s lacy black bra. She stopped, looking at Catra for some cue as to what to do.

“You can keep going,” Catra encouraged.

“Uh… how?” Adora hesitated. She wanted to touch so badly, but she didn’t want to screw it up for Catra. What if whatever she did didn’t feel good to the other girl? What if she accidentally hurt her? Catra trusted her and Adora did not want to ruin that trust.

Catra rolled her eyes fondly before guiding Adora’s hand higher, until it was resting on her breast. Adora took a deep breath. Even through the fabric she could feel Catra’s nipple.

“Don’t be shy,” Catra put pressure on Adora’s hand, encouraging her to squeeze down. So Adora did, feeling the softness of Catra’s breasts underneath her hand. They were the perfect size; not large by any means, but just the right size to fill her hands.

Adora watched Catra take a shaky breath. “Did that feel good?”

Catra nodded, which encouraged Adora to do it again. This time Catra let out a gasp. Adora tentatively brought her other hand up to Catra’s chest, squeezing both of her breasts at the same time. Catra gasped again, this time louder.

Gaining confidence from Catra’s reaction, Adora brushed her thumb over Catra’s nipple. Adora’s nipples might not be all that sensitive, but she had heard of other women enjoying it. If the whine Catra let out in response was anything to go by, Catra was one of those women.

Intrigued by Catra’s reactions, Adora rolled her thumb over Catra’s nipple. It was a bit difficult through the fabric, but Catra was obviously enjoying it.

“Shit Adora, do that again,” Catra panted, her eyes dark and consuming.

Adora nodded before using her weight to flip them over. Hovering over Catra, Adora could tell her angle would be better. Catra guided her down for a kiss, taking the opportunity to pull Adora’s body down over her own. Adora let her body pin Catra down as she turned her focus back to Catra’s chest, enjoying the sounds the other girl was making beneath her.

But the contact wasn’t enough. Adora wanted to feel the smoothness of Catra’s skin, not the lace of her bra. She was struck by how badly she wanted _more._

“Can I take your bra off?” Adora asked quietly.

“How assertive,” Catra teased with a smirk, “Yes if you take your shirt off.”

Adora nodded. That seemed fair. She lifted her shirt over her head and flung it absently away before turning her attention back to Catra. Who was looking at her hungrily. They stared at each other for a few moments before Catra guided Adora’s hands to her back. Getting the message, Adora fumbled with the clasp for a few moments, which caused Catra to laugh.

“Hey! I’m new to this,” Adora defended herself.

“You’re so adorable,” Catra laughed as she kissed Adora’s cheek.

Any response Adora may have made was forgotten when she finally unclasped Catra’s bra and it fell on the floor, forgotten. Catra’s breasts were small but perky, with dusky nipples contrasting her already tan skin. All Adora could do was stare at the sight.

“Catra, you’re so beautiful,” Adora breathed, in awe at her girlfriend. Beneath her, Catra let out a noise between a sigh and a moan as she allowed her head to fall back against the couch cushions.

“You can touch me,” Catra reminded her, although it came out as more of a plea. Adora remembered what she was doing before and moved her hand to cover Catra’s breast. She squeezed, delighting in the way the smooth skin fit in her hands. Catra whimpered below her, obviously also enjoying the skin-to-skin contact.

Adora leaned down to recapture Catra’s lips in a kiss as her hands continued their exploration of Catra’s chest. Her fingers found Catra’s nipples again, brushing against them gently at first. Catra pushed her chest into Adora’s hands, encouraging Adora to touch her more firmly. Adora felt like she could do this forever; the feel of Catra’s body underneath her and the noises the other girl was making made the now familiar tension in her abdomen build into something more intense.

Adora was content to continue her current actions for a few minutes, alternating between pinching Catra’s nipples and rolling them under her fingers. She swallowed Catra’s noises with her kisses, letting her tongue push against Catra’s insistently. But it still wasn’t enough. She needed to touch more, to make Catra feel even better.

On impulse, Adora moved one of her hands down Catra’s body as she started kissing the other girl’s neck. Catra let her body arch into Adora’s touch as she laced her fingers in Adora’s hair, effectively holding her in place.

“Can I keep going?” Adora asked as her hand reached the hem of Catra’s pants. She met Catra’s eyes, delighted to find them dark and wild.

“God yes,” Catra nodded enthusiastically, “You, um, cut your nails right?”

Adora nodded, bringing her hand up and wiggling her fingers for Catra to inspect. Adora always kept her nails relatively short, but she had been taking extra care to keep them short since last weekend. Just in case.

“Oh thank God,” Catra said, looking at Adora with anticipation. Adora could tell the other girl was nervous, too.

With a flash of determination, Adora moved her hand back down to Catra’s pants and began fumbling with the buttons. Catra removed her fingers from Adora’s hair to help her, and with some effort and some shifting of weight Catra’s pants and underwear were finally off. Adora sat back to look at the girl beneath her, from her chest that rose and fell with her breathing to the clipped black hair in between her legs.

“Wow, Catra,” Adora said, unsure what else to say.

“You know you can just say fuck like the rest of us, right?” Catra quipped, obviously trying to relieve some of the tension that had filled the room.

“Catra, you’re really fucking hot,” Adora agreed, deciding that it was okay to swear right now. Catra seemed to agree as she whined at the praise.

Feeling more confident at Catra’s reaction, Adora leaned over Catra’s body again, letting her hand journey in between Catra’s legs. She was delighted to feel Catra’s wetness as she ran her fingers through her folds tentatively. Catra took a deep breath as Adora’s fingers slid easily over her sensitive skin.

“Oh, Catra, you’re so amazing,” Adora praised as the girl beneath her spread her legs ever so slightly to give Adora more access. Again, Catra keened at the praise. Adora wondered if the brunette even knew she was doing that.

Adora tried to adjust her angle, searching for Catra’s clit. She found it quickly and rubbed her index finger over it gently. Catra let out a weak moan at the touch as she rolled her hips down.

“Adora, do that again,” Catra gasped, her voice raspy and filled with need. Adora pressed her finger up harder this time, causing Catra to moan louder. Spurred on by Catra’s response, Adora used her finger to circle Catra’s clit, adjusting her pressure based on Catra’s reaction. Her wrist was getting cramped at the awkward angle, but it was worth it to hear Catra’s noises and feel Catra’s body move beneath her.

“Catra, spread your legs more,” Adora directed as she moved so she was no longer straddling Catra’s hips but was instead positioned in between the other girl’s legs. Seeming to understand what Adora was looking for, Catra opened her legs for Adora and hooked her ankles over Adora’s back.

“Fuck, Adora,” Catra swore, her voice making the words sound like a plea, “I need you inside.”

“Don’t worry, I got you,” Adora reassured the other girl, although she didn’t really have any idea what she was doing. She abandoned Catra’s clit to let her fingers journey downwards until they reached the other girl’s entrance. She gently pressed her middle finger in, delighting in the way Catra’s body yielded for her. Both girls gasped as Adora’s finger slipped inside Catra.

“Curl your finger more,” Catra instructed, “And move it in and out.”

Adora did as she was told, which earned her some more delightful noises from Catra. 

“You can press harder. You’re not gonna break me, you know. Especially not with one finger.” The girl beneath her instructed, the last words punctuated with heavy breathing as Adora put more force behind the motion of her finger. Adora smiled as the other girl whispered “Yes, like that” under her breath.

“Oh Catra, you feel so good around me,” Adora began kissing along Catra’s neck again as she moved her finger inside of Catra. She could feel Catra’s legs shaking as she slowly picked up the pace. Her eyes were glued to Catra’s hips as the other girl rocked her hips down to meet her thrusts.

Catra took a deep breath as the heel of Adora’s hand brushed against her clit. Adora shifted her hand so Catra could grind down against her as she thrust her finger in. They set a consistent rhythm that had Adora’s head spinning and clit throbbing. Every noise Catra made, every stutter of the other girl’s hips made Adora feel an addictive surge of pride.

“I can take another,” Catra said after a few blissful minutes.

Adora bit down at the junction of Catra’s neck and shoulder as she pushed another finger in, this one sliding in with almost no resistance. Catra moaned loudly at the increased stretch.

“I love the way you sound,” Adora encouraged, hoping to pull more of those delicious noises from her girlfriend. Again, Catra whimpered at the praise as a shudder rushed through her body.

“Adora, tell me more,” Catra begged, her heels digging into Adora and her hands scrambling for purchase on her back. It was needy and desperate and so insanely hot. Adora felt like she was going to burst.

Adora could compliment Catra in her sleep, so she continued. “Oh, Catra, I wish you could see yourself right now. You’re so gorgeous.”

Catra writhed underneath her, breathing fast and heavy. Adora added another finger before thrusting in with more force. Catra closed her eyes as she moaned unabashedly. Adora could tell the other girl was so close to letting everything go and getting swept up in the moment. 

“That’s it. You work so hard, you’re always so strong and independent and capable. Just let go for me. Let me make you feel good,” Adora encouraged, willing Catra to understand how badly Adora wanted to please her. Catra dug her nails into the skin of Adora’s back desperately, no longer caring about covering her reactions. Adora had never seen her girlfriend let go of control before, and the sight was absolutely intoxicating.

“Adora, tell me,” Catra stammered in between breaths before cutting herself off with a moan as Adora increased the pressure on Catra’s clit, “Tell me you want me.”

Adora shifted her head until she was looking at Catra directly in the eyes. “Catra I want you so bad. So, so bad. I think about you all the time, just like this.”

Catra moved a hand to the back of Adora’s neck and pulled her down for a sloppy kiss. This time, Adora decided to take control as she pushed into Catra’s mouth. It was more uncoordinated than when Catra was in charge, but the other girl didn’t seem to care. 

“Fuck, Adora,” The other girl’s voice took on a high, desperate pitch, “Tell me I’m good.”

“Oh Catra, you’re so perfect for me. You’re so smart and driven and inspiring. But you're still soft and warm and _good_ for me,” Adora continued, mesmerized by the girl underneath her.

Catra let out a sound that sounded suspiciously like “more,” so Adora bit Catra’s ear before whispering lowly in her ear.

“Catra, you’re doing such a good job. So beautiful, so good. Are you close?” Adora wasn’t experienced enough to be absolutely sure if Catra was close or not, but the way Catra was letting out noises that were really more sobs and the way her body spasmed with every thrust of Adora’s fingers seemed like a good sign.

“So close, Adora,” Catra whined as she clawed at Adora’s back. It wasn’t deep enough to break the skin, but Adora could feel stinging in the wake of Catra’s nails. She moaned at the sensation, allowing pleasure to pulse through her as Catra unraveled underneath her.

“Such a good girl,” Adora encouraged as she nipped the skin behind Catra’s ear lightly, “Come for me. I know you can do it.”

Catra’s body tensed and shook as Catra tightened her legs around Adora’s midsection. Adora gasped as Catra’s walls clenched around her fingers and Catra threw her head back and let out the most delicious noise Adora had ever heard. Adora did her best to fuck the other girl though it, keeping up the pace of her fingers and putting more pressure on the heel of her hand until Catra’s body relaxed beneath her.

“Holy fuck, Adora, where did that come from?” Catra asked, obviously still in a daze from her orgasm. Adora hovered over Catra awkwardly as the other girl unhooked her legs and let them fall on the couch, not quite sure what to do now. Nobody really talked about what you were supposed to do _after_ sex.

“I did some research and I just tried to copy what other people said was hot. I honestly didn’t know if it would work, but you seemed to like it,” Adora teased, deciding that she should probably take her fingers out of Catra. She slid them out gently, watching as Catra grimaced slightly at the loss.

Catra sat up and pressed a kiss to Adora’s lips, “You did research?”

“Um, yeah? I wanted to make sure you would be comfortable,” Adora figured it would be even more stressful for Catra to let go if it was clear Adora had no idea what she was doing.

“You’re amazing,” Catra asked, looking genuinely touched.

“Thanks,” Adora accepted the compliment awkwardly.

“So, your turn?” Catra smiled at her as she moved to straddle Adora’s hips.

“Um,” Adora looked up at Catra blankly, suddenly overwhelmed by just how turned on she was.

Catra looked down at her with concern, “Or we could just be done, if that’s better?”

Adora didn’t even have to think about it. There was something about the smirk Catra was giving her and the warmth of Catra’s naked body pressed against her own and the throbbing heat in between her legs that made Adora want to keep going. To let herself _want_ Catra in a way she had never wanted anything before.

“No, we should keep going,” Adora decided.

Catra smiled back at her and leaned down to capture her lips in a kiss. It started out sweet and reassuring, as if Catra could see all of Adora’s insecurities and was trying to tell her it would be okay. Deciding she was ready for more, Adora placed her hands on Catra’s waist the way she remembered the other girl liking and pulled the other girl closer to her.

That seemed to do the trick as Catra broke the kiss to pull on Adora’s hair, forcing her head back and exposing her neck. Catra kissed and nipped at the exposed skin for a few moments before lifting her body up to capture Adora’s lips in a possessive kiss.

The hand that wasn’t entwined in Adora’s hair made its way to Adora’s stomach, where Catra let it wander up lazily, making Adora gasp. She had no idea how the simplest of touches could feel so good, but she never wanted Catra’s hands to leave her body.

Then Catra reached her bra and paused, obviously waiting for permission.

“Still feeling good?” Catra asked when Adora made no move to encourage or deny Catra’s advances.

Adora nodded, overwhelmed with the feeling of Catra’s hands on her bare skin. When Catra didn’t continue, Adora spoke up. “Feeling really good. I’ll tell you if you need to stop.”

“Sounds like a plan, princess,” Catra winked at her before rejoining their lips. Adora was so distracted by the feel of Catra’s tongue against hers that she almost forgot about Catra’s hand. But that hand crept up and gently cupped her breast through her bra.

“Catra, keep doing that,” Adora gasped, exhilarated with the contact.

Catra hummed in agreement and squeezed lightly. Adora’s breath hitched at the sensation.

“Take my bra off,” Adora suggested with a spurt of confidence.

“I like the way you think,” Catra laughed as she brought a hand around Adora to unclasp her bra. Adora took the bra off and threw it away somewhere in the living room but Adora didn’t care because Catra was staring at her chest as if she had just won the lottery.

“Has anyone ever told you how nice your tits are?” Catra asked with a playful smirk. They both knew what the answer was.

“No?” Adora looked up at her girlfriend, who was most definitely _not_ looking at Adora’s eyes.

“Well they are. You have really nice tits,” Catra said. Adora opened her mouth to respond, but Catra rejoined their lips. After a few seconds, her hand made its way back to Adora’s breast, this time unhindered by her layers. Catra squeezed again, and again Adora gasped at the sensation. She had never really paid attention to her chest when masturbating, but it felt nice. Then Catra’s thumb flicked over Adora’s nipple and Adora hummed in response, pleased with the faint rush of pleasure that resulted from the action.

“Are you okay?” Catra asked, sounding confused. It struck Adora that perhaps her girlfriend was expecting more of a reaction.

“Yeah, they’re just not really that sensitive,” Adora admitted, feeling a little embarrassed.

Catra looked at her, relieved, “Okay, good to know. I thought I was doing something wrong.”

“Nope. Sorry.”

“It’s all good,” Catra smiled at her hungrily, “I bet there are other parts of you that are more sensitive.”

Adora couldn’t hide the moan that Catra’s words forced out of her. Above her, Catra chuckled darkly before kissing along her jawline. Adora sighed as Catra made her way to Adora’s earlobe, which she bit down on lightly. 

“Have you ever thought about this before?” Catra whispered lowly in her ear. Her voice was raspy from their earlier activities and laced with desire. Adora nodded.

Catra bit down at the skin right behind Adora’s ear and sucked. “What do you think about?”

“You,” Adora whined, overwhelmed by the heat building inside her, threatening to combust. 

“And what am I doing?” Catra prompted as she directed her attention down Adora’s neck and to her collarbone. Adora let her head fall back against the couch cushions as Catra sucked what was definitely going to be a particularly large mark.

Adora tried to say something, tried to articulate all the ways she had imagined Catra touching her, but what came out was some unintelligible version of Catra’s name.

“Sorry, princess, but I didn’t catch that,” Catra said against Adora’s skin as her mouth moved down to the area in between Adora’s breasts. “When you think about me, what am I doing to you?”

Adora gasped as Catra bit down again, before kissing the area. Again, her mouth was moving lower down Adora’s body, now at the top of her midsection. Adora needed Catra to keep moving down more than she needed air. “Using your mouth.”

Catra laughed as she moved from Adora’s lap to kneel on the floor. She kissed Adora’s abdomen, causing Adora to flex involuntarily. “And where am I using my mouth?”

Adora let out a frustrated noise. She didn’t want to say it. It was so lewd and honestly a bit forward for their first time together.

“Come on, princess. You can’t call me a good girl and tell me to come one minute and then wimp out about this the next. I know you secretly have a filthy mouth,” Catra teased, her mouth losing its downward trajectory in favor of kissing the same spot repetitively.

Adora took a deep breath. “On my clit.”

Adora held the other girl’s eye contact. She was becoming aware of just how wet she was and how her underwear was clinging to her uncomfortably.

“See? That wasn’t so hard,” Catra stood up to peck Adora on the lips before reaching her hand down to unbutton Adora’s pants. “What do you say we get these out of the way?”

Adora nodded eagerly and lifted her hips so Catra could work the fabric down her legs. Catra moved from her spot straddling Adora to kneeling on the ground before her between her now bare legs. The only thing between Catra and Adora were her thin, soaked panties.

“Awe, is all this just for me?” Catra drawled, “God that’s so hot.”

Catra leaned down to kiss the area between Adora’s thighs. Adora’s hips bucked involuntarily at the fleeting contact. It was where she wanted it, but it wasn’t _enough._ She needed _more_ or she was going to explode.

Catra seemed to get the message and looped her fingers under the band of Adora’s panties, pulling them down and off of her in one efficient motion. Adora gasped as the cool air hit her, a dramatic contrast to the heat coursing through her body.

“If you need me to stop, tell me,” Catra gave Adora a pointed look, checking in on her one more time.

“Catra _please_ don’t stop,” Adora begged

In response, Catra lifted Adora’s legs so they were resting on her shoulders. Then she leaned in and kissed Adora again, this time on her bare skin. And oh fuck, if this is what her _lips_ felt like Adora had no idea what a _tongue_ was going to feel like.

Catra licked from Adora’s entrance to her clit gently, almost teasingly. Adora couldn’t help but roll her hips into the sensation as she felt the warmth of Catra’s mouth on her.

“Someone’s eager,” Catra said with a low, amused tone. Adora opened her mouth to tell Catra to stop being a tease, but then Catra leaned in again and pressed her tongue to Adora’s clit with more pressure. Adora could only moan as pleasure pulsed through her.

Then Catra’s tongue was moving down and Adora’s hands flew to Catra’s hair to keep her in place. Adora could feel the vibrations as Catra laughed against her, but Catra didn’t stop the downward journey of her tongue. And then next thing Adora knew Catra’s tongue was inside her and all Adora could do was arch her back and try to pull Catra even closer.

Catra’s tongue pushed into her, warm and firm. And then it wasn’t a tongue, it was a finger and Catra’s tongue was back up to her clit. And then the finger went _deeper_ and Catra sucked around her and Adora couldn’t focus on anything other than the fire in her abdomen and the feel of Catra’s thick hair in her hands.

Adora completely lost track of time, seconds turned to minutes as Catra thrust her finger inside Adora in time with her tongue. At some point the one finger became two and Adora had never really considered penetration when she was touching herself but _wow_ she definitely should have. Every time Catra pushed her fingers in they hit a spot deep in her that made her legs shake and her back arch up off the couch.

“Catra,” Adora desperately tried to tell the other girl to push in _harder,_ to speed up the motions of her tongue but the only thing that came out was a pitiful moan. Fortunately, Catra seemed to get the hint as she picked up her pace, fingers thrusting into Adora with more force. Logically, Adora knew there had to be some sort of rhythm but she was too far gone to process anything other than heat and pleasure and wanting more.

Adora’s orgasm crept up on her slowly but hit her like a tsunami, a flash of heat and tension finally being released within her. She shuddered as her legs shook and her core tensed one last time, pleasure and relief rushing through her. She closed her eyes as she caught her breath, grateful to Catra for continuing to lick her until she had come down from her peak.

Finally, Adora opened her eyes and Catra was smiling at her from her position between Adora’s legs. When did her legs get taken off of Catra’s shoulders?

“Shit, Catra,” Adora couldn’t think of anything else to say. She loosened her hands from where they were gripping Catra’s hair, choosing to cup Catra’s face and stroke her cheeks instead.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve done that. Good to know I’ve still got it,” Catra said with a wink before standing up and moving to straddle Adora again. Adora hugged Catra close to her body, enjoying the warmth of the other woman against her.

“Yeah, you definitely still have it,” Adora agreed absently. There was a silence as they both sat there, holding each other and enjoying each other’s presence. 

“We should take a shower. It smells like sex in here,” Catra said. Adora looked around the room and realized that “in here” was their living area.

“Oh my God, I just lost my virginity on Scorpia’s old couch. We literally have two beds and I lost it on the couch,” Adora groaned.

“Aren’t you glad I turned the movie off, or you would have lost it with The Princess Bride on in the background?” Catra pointed out, “Also, I don’t know what your issue with the couch is. We got together on this couch, so it’s only fitting that our first time was here. Full circle or whatever.”

“Yeah, but we weren’t naked when we got together,” Adora argued, “Who even knows what’s on this couch?”

“Well, what’s done is done, but tomorrow we can clean the couch. Just in case this becomes a regular occurrence,” Catra kissed Adora on the nose before winking, standing up, and walking away.

“Catra! We have to clean this up,” Adora called after her.

“Let’s do it in the morning,” Catra responded as the sounds of the shower echoed down the hallway.

Adora wanted to protest, but she did feel a little gross and sweaty and the water of the shower would be warm and if she asked nicely she was sure Catra would let her wash her hair. After a moment of deliberation, she decided that nothing catastrophic would happen if she left her bra on the ground overnight.

She made her way to the bathroom, where Catra was testing the shower’s water with her hands. It always took forever for the water to heat up in their apartment. One of the many perks of student housing.

“Do you mind if I join you?” Adora asked as she wrapped her arms around Catra’s midsection and hugged her from behind.

“Honestly, I’d be more upset if you didn’t join me,” Catra laughed before deciding the water was warm enough and stepping inside.

Adora followed her girlfriend into the water, gasping a little as she adjusted to the warm temperature. Catra laughed at Adora’s reaction.

“What? It’s not my fault you shower in molten lava,” Adora defended herself.

“Just shut up and kiss me,” Catra tilted her head back and reached out in invitation. Adora stepped closer and joined their lips in a gentle kiss. Without warning, Catra pulled her back and Adora’s head was directly under the flow of water.

“Catra!” Adora gasped against the other girl’s lips. Then Catra was laughing again and Adora couldn’t help but join in. Adora let their hands entwine and took a moment to really look at how beautiful her girlfriend was, with her skin slightly red from the heat of the shower shower and her wet hair plastered to her skin and a genuine smile on her face.

“Let me wash your hair?” Adora offered after a brief silence.

Catra nodded and handed Adora her shampoo bottle. Adora squirted some on her hands as Catra turned so her back was to her. Adora let her hands thread themselves in Catra’s hair gently, moving them in a circular motion to work up a lather. She let her blunt nails scratch at Catra’s scalp lightly. In front of her, Catra sighed contentedly.

After a while, Catra rinsed off her hair and they switched. Adora let her head fall back as she felt Catra’s fingers work through her hair firmly. They chatted idly about their days as the sound of running water continued behind them. After what seemed like an eternity of inside jokes and soft touches and chaste kisses, they were done showering. Adora grabbed them towels from the rack as Catra shut the water off.

They both went their separate ways as they began their normal evening routine. Adora brushed her teeth as Catra combed through her wet hair. Then Catra was brushing her teeth as Adora grabbed her pajamas. Adora came back to brush her hair as Catra was leaving the bathroom.

By the time Adora made it into her room, Catra was lounging on her bed and scrolling through her phone in one of Adora’s t-shirts.

“Before you ask, yes I put my lotion on,” Catra didn’t even bother to look up from her phone as Adora entered, “Did you have your vitamins?”

“Yeah,” Adora smiled before shutting the light off and crawling onto the bed beside Catra, “That shirt looks good on you, by the way.”

“You think everything looks good on me,” Catra pointed out before setting her phone down and crawling under the covers.

“Because it does,” Adora laughed before joining Catra under the covers. Catra let her head rest on Adora’s chest as Adora slung her leg across Catra’s body.

“You’re so dumb,” Catra said with the same tone she used to say I love you.

Adora hummed, “You’re dumber.”

“You’re the dumbest,” Catra kissed Adora’s neck lightly, “But that’s why I love you.”

“I love you too, Catra,” Adora said before letting her head fall back on the pillows. Catra shifted herself closer and nuzzled along Adora’s collarbone as she got comfortable. Adora let herself feel safe and warm with Catra in her arms and she listened to her girlfriend’s breathing until she drifted off into a contented sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut's not my favorite to write but I definitely set this up as a fic about Adora's relationship with sex so I thought it would be appropriate to include the end of that particular arc in her life :)
> 
> I don't have a deadline for when the epilogue will come out, so just know that it's coming sometime in the near future. It will be much shorter than this monster of a chapter lol.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading/leaving kudos/commenting/breathing in the general direction of this fic!


	16. Picnic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclosure I did cry while writing this.

Catra awoke to an empty bed and the faint sounds of Adora rustling around the kitchen. This was a fairly normal occurrence; Adora had to be up at ungodly hours for morning practices so she often cooked breakfast for both of them after she came back. Catra almost let the rustle of pans and the opening of closing of cabinets lull her back to sleep, as she had so many times before.

Just as Catra was closing her eyes, her phone’s alarm went off. Which was odd, because Adora usually woke Catra up after she was done cooking breakfast, so Catra had no need for alarms. Catra frantically grabbed her phone to see what the fuss was about.

[Alarm: Get the fuck up its your anniversary!]

Now that she read it, Catra vaguely remembered setting that alarm last night, knowing that Adora would get up and make some extravagant breakfast while Catra slept through her girlfriend’s efforts. And while past Catra’s intentions were good, she was inclined to wait until Adora was done cooking before getting up today, too. She knew one of the main ways Adora expressed affection was by doing things for other people, so helping her would defeat the whole point. Also, she was pretty sure Adora secretly liked dragging Catra out of bed in the mornings.

Assured in her decision to sleep for another half an hour or so, Catra hit the cancel button on her phone and rolled over. Only to be assaulted by another alarm.

[Alarm: I’m serious, don’t make Adora make breakfast on her own today]

Goddamn it, past Catra knew her too well. And she had a point; it was really shitty to force her girlfriend to do all the work on their anniversary. Catra checked her phone to make sure that was the last alarm (it was) before making her way out of bed and to the kitchen.

There was Adora, standing with her back to her and cooking something on the stove. She hadn’t noticed Catra yet, so Catra did her best to make her way over to the other girl as silently as possible. Once within striking distance, Catra wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s midsection and stood on her tiptoes to look over her shoulder.

“Oh my God, Catra, you scared me!” Adora laughed. Judging by the way she immediately relaxed into Catra’s embrace, she wasn’t all that scared.

“Gotta keep you on your toes, princess,” Catra said before kissing Adora on the cheek. Adora turned her head so Catra could kiss her again on the lips.

“Happy anniversary, Adora,” Catra said when they separated.

“Happy anniversary, Catra,” Adora smiled back at Catra for a few moments before turning back to the pan, where she was cooking chocolate chip pancakes. Catra’s favorite.

“I can’t believe it’s already been two years,” Catra reminisced with a sigh. It felt like just yesterday she was a sophomore stressing about organic chemistry labs and internship opportunities. Now, she was a senior who had already been accepted to medical school and basically just needed to not fail her last classes before graduation.

“I can,” Adora argued, “Sophomore year I wouldn’t have been able to cook this. You’re looking at two years of progress right here.”

Catra rolled her eyes, “They’re pancakes, Adora. How much practice do you really need?”

“Hey! They’re from scratch!” Adora protested good naturedly. They both knew that Adora had made great strides in her culinary expertise since sophomore year, mostly thanks to their habit of making cooking dinner the punishment for losing a competition. Catra was good at picking competitions she knew she would win, so Adora was usually the one cooking.

“Well they smell delicious,” Catra agreed, “Remember that time you tried to cook pancakes and you ended up burning them and setting off the smoke alarm?”

“Yeah, because _someone_ was distracting me,” Adora reminded her.

“I wasn’t _distracting_ you, I was just walking around our shared apartment like a normal person,” Catra laughed.

“Yeah, because normal people walk around their apartments in lingerie,” Adora said as she flipped one of the pancakes on the pan.

“Fine. But you wouldn’t have burned them if you had just kept your eyes to yourself,” Catra pointed out.

“Well then, next time you wear lingerie I’ll make sure to keep my eyes to myself.” Catra could hear the smirk in Adora’s voice.

Catra pulled herself closer to Adora and tightened her embrace, “Your life’s about to get very boring then.”

Adora hummed in agreement before turning her attention to one of their cabinets on the other side of the kitchen, “I need to get us plates.”

“Do you _have_ to?” Catra protested as she buried her face in Adora’s shoulder, feeling too comfortable pressed up against Adora’s back to move.

“Would you rather eat pancakes out of the pan?” Adora turned to Catra and raised an eyebrow.

Catra groaned dramatically before detangling herself from Adora and grabbing two plates. She handed the plates to her girlfriend before returning to her original position of hugging her from behind.

Adora laughed at her girlfriend’s theatrics before plating their pancakes and turning off the stove. Catra let her arms fall from their position around Adora so the other girl could put the plates on the island in front of their barstools.

“Can you grab the syrup and butter before you sit down?” Adora asked as she grabbed them forks and knives.

Catra did before sitting down next to Adora. She buttered her pancakes and took a bite. As per usual, it was absolutely amazing.

“Goddamn, Adora, this is the best pancake I’ve ever had,” Catra said enthusiastically.

“Really? It’s a new recipe so I wasn’t sure if it would turn out okay,” Adora admitted.

“It turned out much more than okay,” Catra insisted, “Seriously, take a bite.”

Adora did and made a pleasantly surprised noise, “Yeah, this is pretty good.”

“Pretty good?” Catra gasped in mock offense, “Adora, if I don’t have this for breakfast every day from now on I think I’ll die.”

“If you have this for breakfast every day I think you _will_ die,” Adora pointed out.

“Well it would be a full and happy death,” Catra decided. Adora laughed, a sound that somehow got more beautiful every time Catra heard it.

“So what are you wearing to the picnic today?” Adora asked after a moment of silence. Due to the shared anniversary incident, the Best Friends Squad had decided to merge their anniversary celebrations into one large picnic. It was a big event last year, and as half of the celebrating group Catra and Adora did actually have to look presentable.

That being said, Catra had been procrastinating picking out her outfit because the weather was going to be that awkward not too cold but not really hot limbo that was impossible to dress for. “I don’t know, but I’m tempted to be totally obnoxious and match each other like Bow and Glimmer did last year.”

“Do we even have anything that matches?” Adora asked.

“We do,” Catra nodded, “Actually two things. Remember that red dress I have? Your suit and shirt combo goes with it. Although that’s more coordinating and not matching, now that I think about it.”

“You want me to wear my _white_ suit to a picnic?” Adora demanded, obviously not thrilled with the idea.

“Okay, then, option two. Remember Netossa’s bachelorette party?”

“No, we are not wearing those shirts,” Adora shook her head.

“Why not? They match and they say ‘Catradora’ on the back. That’s literally the most obnoxious we can get.”

“ _Yours_ says Catradora on the back, _mine_ says Catadora because I apparently can’t spell when drunk,” Adora pointed out.

Catra laughed at the memory of drunk Adora struggling with the puffy paint and pouting when Catra refused to spell out ‘Catradora’ for her, “Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Well now we have to wear them, because that’s hilarious.”

“Remind me why I’m dating you?” Adora pouted.

“Because you think I’m hot,” Catra said with a wink, “Now finish your pancakes so we can dig those shirts up from the back of your closet.”

\---

The shirts were worse than Catra had remembered. They were bright pink, for one thing, and said “Spinnerella + Netossa: Wives for Life” on the front with a bunch of tiny hearts. On the back, both Catra and Adora had written “Catradora 4 Eva” in purple puffy paint. Well, Catra had that, Adora’s unfortunately did say “Catadora” instead. 

But they were going to wear them if it was the last thing they did. Last year Bow and Glimmer had worn matching shirts with a picture of them on it, and Catra and Adora had sworn to each other to never let their friends live it down.

So they put on the shirts and made their way to the picnic, where they were first greeted by Scorpia and Perfuma, who had volunteered to bring the bulk of the food. Perfuma’s apartment had a rooftop garden, and the couple was very passionate about making the most out of every square inch. It was cute, although Catra didn’t really care about hydroponic gardening.

“Wildcat! We were starting to worry that you two had ditched,” Scorpia greeted before pulling Catra into a hug. Catra had learned long ago that struggling did nothing to stop Scorpia, so she settled for hugging her friend back.

“It’s a celebration in our honor, Scorpia, there’s no way we would miss that,” Catra smirked as they separated.

“I’m mainly here for the food,” Adora offered from Catra’s side, “Perfuma told me she was going to make that fruit salad again.”

Perfuma visibly brightened, “And I did! It’s over there by the watermelon Mermista brought.”

Adora opened her mouth to respond, but before she could she was smashed into a group hug by two very loud, very annoying bundles of energy.

“Adora! It’s our anniversary!” Glimmer sang as she pulled Adora even closer in her side hug. On the other side, Bow was smiling and wrapping his arms around the two women beside them.

“Happy anniversary,” Adora wheezed, the impact from her friends having obviously knocked the wind out of her, “Can you go bug Catra now?”

“Yeah, Catra, get in here!” Bow smiled before extending an arm in invitation.

“I hate all of you.” Catra rolled her eyes to put on a show of reluctance before joining her friends. The truth was, she actually enjoyed best friend squad group hugs; it made her feel like she belonged somewhere. But she would never admit that out loud. She had a reputation to uphold, after all.

“Well unfortunately for you, you’re not getting rid of us,” Glimmer said.

“Awe, look at you four! You’re so cute,” Scorpia gushed from the sidelines.

“I’m not cute,” Catra insisted as the four of them broke their embrace. Adora raised an eyebrow with the perfect mix of smugness. Catra glared at her, “I’m _not_. You’re just too stupid to be scared of me anymore.”

“I never said you were cute,” Adora shrugged with false innocence.

“Yeah, but you were thinking it,” Catra insisted.

“Well sue me for thinking my girlfriend is cute,” Adora crossed her arms defiantly.

Bow rolled his eyes, “I swear you two bicker like an old married couple. Let’s just enjoy the picnic! I heard that Spinnerella and Netossa are bringing a soccer ball so we can play some soccer.”

“Oh, speaking of Spinny and Netossa, nice shirts you two,” Glimmer snorted.

“Thanks! We were inspired by a certain couple’s fashion last year,” Catra smirked, “I mean, is it really love if you don’t have customized matching shirts?”

“No, it really isn’t,” Adora shook her head solemnly next to Catra.

“Seriously, you too, Adora? Catra’s been a bad influence on you,” Glimmer pointed an accusatory finger at Adora, “But I’ll let it slide, seeing as it’s your anniversary.”

“How kind,” Catra deadpanned.

“Oh, there’s Netossa! Let’s go play some soccer babe,” Scorpia pointed to a figure in the distance.

“Sounds fun. Do you guys want to join us?” Perfuma turned to the rest of their group.

“Nah, Adora and I need to get our blanket all set up,” Catra motioned to their unpacked bags.

“We’ll join you,” Bow said, “See you two later.”

They waved the other two couples goodbye before finding a good spot to lay their blanket down. It was a balancing act. They had to find a space that was close enough to their friends that they could still be in the action, but far enough away from Sea Hawk’s blanket so Catra didn’t have to listen to his singing for the entire day. They finally settled on a spot and set their stuff down.

After setting up, they made their way over to where all of the food was set up. They had frosted some cookies the night before to add to the potluck, but from the looks of it their addition wasn’t really needed. There was a large spread of food, from lunch foods to snack foods to a multitude of desserts. Catra smiled as she saw Entrapda’s signature tiny cupcakes.

Catra grabbed some food halfheartedly. She usually just stole from Adora’s plate--or in this case, it was looking like it would be plates--during stuff like this, but she liked to keep the appearance of getting her own food.

Satisfied with the amount of food gathered, they made their way back to the blanket and started eating. Adora put her plates in between the two of them automatically, and Catra noticed that some of the things she grabbed were foods only Catra liked. Even after all this time, the small action made Catra feel warm.

“So are we doing presents here or at home?” Catra asked as they ate. They had done presents at the picnic last year, but they hadn’t talked about it this year. Catra had brought her presents just in case.

“Let’s do it here. I’ll go first,” Adora offered before pulling a large present from her tote bag and handing it to Catra. It was a little heavier than Catra had expected it to be. She looked at it for a few moments, unsure what it could possibly be.

“Well, are you going to open it?” Adora prompted.

Catra nodded before ripping off the wrapping paper. In her hands was what looked like a photo album. It was dark red with gold accents. Catra opened the cover and saw a page with the word “memories” written in neat cursive. Underneath it was a grainy picture of her and Adora as kids, standing in front of a brand-new swingset in Adora’s backyard and smiling like it was the most exciting day of their lives.

Catra turned the page and realized that this wasn’t a photo album, it was a scrapbook. There was a page for each year they had known each other, starting with the first day of preschool. This one was the most forced, as Catra had just moved in and still didn’t know Adora all that well. But there were also pictures of them playing on the monkey bars and making play dough together and smiling like the carefree kids they were.

Then there were the pictures from elementary school. Adora’s parents had taken their picture in front of the school’s sign each year on the first day of school. Those pictures were accompanied by snapshots of them in sparkly leotards at their gymnastics classes and some pictures of them sitting next to each other in class. There were even the doodles Catra had drawn for Adora throughout the years on the pages. The subjects began as varied, from mythical creatures to Adora’s dog to flowers. But by the end of fifth grade, they were all of Adora.

Catra turned the page again and saw them in middle school. She watched as Adora gradually grew taller and more muscular than her. The gymnastics pictures were replaced with pictures of them at birthday parties and dances. Different knickknacks joined Catra’s doodles: a movie ticket for the first movie their parents had let them see together on their own, some of the notes they had passed each other during class, and the ribbon from Catra’s first gymnastics competition.

High school saw the end of Catra’s doodles and the beginning of selfies at games, meets, and other school events. It included those three weeks Catra tried being a cheerleader junior year--she quit when she found out the cheer team only cheered at men’s games--and some really artsy candids Lonnie had taken of them for her photo class. It also had the ticket stubs for the gymnastics regional Catra went to and the state championship Adora won.

The next section, marked by a giant page with just the word “college” on it, wasn't in a chronological order. Instead, it was arranged by categories: pictures of them doing outdoorsy things like that ski trip they went on last week, pictures of them with their friends--including a multitude of laser tag pictures--, pictures of them getting milkshakes in various different restaurants around the city, and pictures of their friends pretending to be overly disgusted as they made out in the background.

The last page didn't seem to have any obvious category. It had a selfie of her and Adora on a picnic table with Catra’s head buried in Adora’s shoulder lazily. It had that picture Bow took of them from the figure skating rink. And next to it was them, a year later, at the same rink, with Adora kissing Catra’s cheek as Catra smiled. There was a row of pictures of them on Etheria with different, increasingly ridiculous, poses (the shitty, picture-of-the-screen pictures, which somehow just made it better). Below that was the pictures of them at winter formal sophomore year. It was a self timer at a fast food restaurant because they had forgotten to take pictures beforehand and Glimmer had texted them angrily reminding them to take pictures. 

There was a series of pictures of Catra taking the first bite out of Adora’s cooking, where you could see her smile go from forced to genuine. Above that was the picture of Adora at championships last year, championship trophy in one hand and the other supporting Catra who had leapt into her arms in excitement. There were some of Catra and Adora painting their new apartment, and some of Catra watching Adora paint. In the middle was the photo strip from the beginning of sophomore year, with Catra smiling at Adora like she was the sun.

“What’s the category here?” Catra asked, “All the others had a theme.”

Adora laughed, “These are the moments I look back on and say, ‘I know Catra loves me.’”

Catra couldn’t help it; she burst into tears. To think how much _time_ and _effort_ Adora put into this, all for her! The way she had photos from each year, the way she had obviously contacted not only all of their friends in college, but Catra’s parents and some random teammates from high school, the way she had kept all of Catra’s doodles for all that time was too much. The fact that Adora had mental categories for her memories and the fact that one of her categories is “reasons I know Catra loves me” made her feel giddy. 

“Catra, are you okay?” Adora asked, clearly alarmed at Catra’s sudden outburst.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Catra sniffed, “This is just one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. I love it so much. I love you so much.”

“Awe, babe, I love _you_ so much,” Adora smiled back at her before grabbing Catra and pulling her into a hug. 

Catra recovered after a few short moments and pulled back.

“Sorry, I just can’t believe what a big sap you are. Your levels of sappiness moved me to tears,” Catra joked as she wiped her face with her sleeve.

“If you say so,” Adora said with a smirk.

“Okay, so I feel kind of stupid going after that,” Catra took a deep breath before giving Adora the first of two wrapped presents, “But here you go.”

Adora accepted her package with a smile and started unwrapping it. A smile which quickly morphed into confusion when she revealed the present.

“It’s… A plastic bug?” Adora looked at Catra for clarification.

Catra shook her head, “It’s not just any bug, it’s a cockroach!”

“A plastic cockroach,” Adora mumbled to herself, “Can I ask why?”

“Well, seeing as it's our anniversary, I thought it would be appropriate to memorialize those whose hard work resulted in us getting together. Namely, that cockroach you absolutely eviscerated the night we got together,” Catra explained. 

“Oh my God,” Adora blushed, “I still can’t believe I did that.”

“And I still can’t believe how hot it was,” Catra said with a laugh and a wink.

“You think everything I do is hot so that’s not even that impressive,” Adora laughed with her.

“Yeah, well that was _especially_ hot,” Catra argued, “Peak Adora.”

Adora smiled before inspecting the plastic bug in her hands. It was pretty cheap, because Catra wasn’t about to spend more than $20 on a joke gift. 

“So, I guess now I have a plastic bug,” The other girl said after a silence, valiantly hiding her disappointment.

“Don’t get too excited about it or I might decide that you don’t need your second present,” Catra joked before pulling out the second box.

Adora instantly lit up, “Oh, there’s more? What’s this a model of?”

“No, stupid, it’s not a plastic model. Just open it!”

Adora tore through the paper to reveal another box, which opened to reveal a ring. It was a simple golden band--Catra knew Adora would never wear something bulky--with an intricate swirling pattern stamped into the material. Adora gaped at it, clearly at a loss for words.

“Okay, so before you say anything, I know we talked about how getting married isn’t super important to us and if we ever got married we would wait until after grad school. But--,” Catra started.

“--Oh my God, Catra, yes!” Adora cut in before pulling Catra into a crushing hug.

“I didn’t even ask you anything yet, dummy,” Catra shifted her body closer to Adora, “What I was saying is: I didn’t want to do a huge proposal thing and make a big deal out of it, but you’re the most important person in my life and that’s never going to change, so I thought you deserved a ring.”

“Because you want to marry me,” Adora sang, “That’s so embarrassing for you.”

“Yeah, I’m _so_ embarrassed,” Catra said sarcastically, “And honestly I just want to keep people from hitting on you. Do you know how many men I need to glare at when we go to the gym? An unacceptable amount.”

Adora shifted before guiding Catra to straddle her. Once Catra was comfortable in Adora’s lap, Adora cupped her cheek, “So you want me to believe that your solution to men checking me out is full-out proposing?”

“Yes, that’s the only reason I proposed,” Catra did her best to deadpan, “I have no ulterior motives.”

“Say that at the altar, then I’ll believe it,” Adora smirked.

“Don’t tempt me. I’ll fucking do it,” Catra warned.

Adora nodded seriously, “So by that logic, we should invite everyone who goes to our gym to the wedding. You know, so they can see for sure that I’m taken.”

“Naturally,” Catra nodded, “It’s just going to be you, me, someone ordained, and a room full of sweaty men.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Adora agreed before leaning in to kiss Catra.

“Wait,” Catra stopped Adora with a hand, “I have to put the ring on you first.”

Adora dutifully held out her hand as Catra picked up the ring. It slid on Adora’s ring finger easily, just as Catra knew it would.

“It fits!” Adora said, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, of course it does. Why do you think I asked you for your ring size last week?”

“Honestly? I thought you were collecting data for one of your classes.”

Catra couldn’t help but pull Adora into a kiss. She could feel Adora smiling against her lips before pulling back.

“How are you still this oblivious?” Catra asked.

“I don’t know, but you like it,” Adora shrugged before kissing Catra again. Catra threw her arms around Adora’s shoulders as they deepened the kiss. It was sweet and slow and so full of love Catra felt like she would burst.

“Ew! Public indecency!” Glimmer’s voice came from one of the nearby blankets.

“Oh, fuck off Sparkles,” Catra turned to glare at Glimmer, who was currently reffing the soccer game. Beneath her, Adora laughed and rested her head on Catra’s shoulder. Catra turned back to Adora and let her cheek rest on the top of her fiance’s head fondly.

“Catra, you make me so happy,” Adora mumbled into Catra’s shoulder.

Catra let her hands run through Adora’s hair gently, “You make me even happier, Adora.”

Catra looked out over their friends, who were getting really into the game of soccer on the grass field in front of them. She watched lazily as Scorpia and Perfuma teamed up against Spinerella and Netossa to score a goal. She had no intentions of joining the game, of course. Not when Adora was holding onto her happily and she was still riding the high of their gift giving.

She wasn’t sure how much time passed as they sat there, watching the game and idly making comments. And she didn’t really care; it’s not like they were in a rush. They could just exist in this moment, basking in the other’s presence. They had all the time in the world because Catra loved Adora, Adora loved Catra, and neither of them was going anywhere without the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I can't believe it's over! I had so much fun writing this fic, and I hope you guys had just as much fun reading it.
> 
> In terms of future projects, I am currently writing another Catradora slow burn (I have a problem). I haven't decided if I'm going to publish it yet or it's just going to be for me, but keep your eyes open! If you're ever curious about what I'm up to, feel free to send me a message on [ tumblr ](https://auspiciousships.tumblr.com/):)
> 
> I try not to take myself too seriously (I wrote a fic about a kids show with the premise of a reddit post and the title of a vine after all), but there are two main things I hope you guys take away from this fic. The first is that sexuality is a spectrum, and wherever you fall on that spectrum is normal. You're not alone, even if right now it feels like it.
> 
> The second is the idea of finding love and romance in the mundane parts of your life. I hope you all find beauty in the night hikes, squashed bugs, and movie nights of your life! It doesn't have to be fancy or extravagant to be significant.
> 
> I know that's really sappy but this is kind of a sappy chapter so... Anyways, thank you all for reading and (maybe) see you soon!


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